Canada, NATO Partners Must Prevent Escalation of Russia-Turkey Tensions

Canada and its NATO partners must work together to ensure tensions between Russia and Turkey do not escalate further after Turkey shot down a Russian Su-24 bomber jet operating in Syria, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Wednesday

WASHINGTON, November 25 (Sputnik) — Trudeau affermed NATO must stand by its ally Turkey, but added that Canada and its partners must also "ensure that this incident doesn’t escalate into more such incidents."

"What's extremely important is that we call for calm," Trudeau stated during a press conference.

Instead, Canada and its NATO partners need to "deescalate a greater level of <…> shared purpose and actions in the operations to stabilize Syria."

On Tuesday, Turkish Air Force shot down a Russian Su-24 jet after it allegedly violated Turkish airspace. Russian Defense Ministry stated flight monitoring data show the aircraft never entered Turkish airspace and was downed in Syrian airspace.

Asked whether he agreed with US President Barack Obama and NATO that Turkey had the right to defend itself in shooting the Russian aircraft, Trudeau said it was too early for Canada to make any determination or point fingers to one side or the other.