Russian, Turkish Defense Ministries Establish Direct Communication

The defense ministries of Russia and Turkey established on Wednesday a direct line for consultations, according to Rossiya-24 TV channel.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russian military officials continued earlier on Wednesday consultations with colleagues from Turkey on avoiding airspace violations by Russian Air Force warplanes operating on Syrian territory close to the Turkish-Syrian border, according to Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov.

NATO claimed that Russian fighter jets violated Turkish airspace on October 3 and October 4. The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed that on October 3, an Su-30 Flanker multirole fighter briefly entered Turkish airspace for a few seconds due to poor weather conditions.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told journalists on Monday that the incident involving a Russian jet entering Turkish airspace has not affected relations between the countries.

Russia’s Sukhoi Su-25, Su-24M and Su-34 attack aircraft, with the support of Su-30 jets, commenced precision airstrikes against IS targets in Syria on September 30, following a request from Syrian President Bashar Assad.