MADRID (Sputnik) — On Tuesday, a Russian Su-24 combat aircraft crashed in Syria while carrying out precision strikes against terrorists. Moscow said it was downed by an air-to-air missile, fired from a Turkish F-16 fighter in response to alleged violation of Turkish airspace.
"It is necessary that everyone agrees and works in the same direction to prevent incidents like the one that occurred between Russia and Turkey… It would be ideal if Russia and Turkey worked together after resolving the plane incident," the minister told Spanish laSexta broadcaster in an interview.
He called the international coalition for closer cooperation with Russia in the conflict zone, as Russia is an integral part of anti-ISIL fight.
Russian jets commenced precision airstrikes against Islamic State in Syria on September 30, following a request from Syrian President Bashar Assad.
A US-led international coalition has been conducting airstrikes against ISIL targets in Syria since 2014 without an approval of the UN Security Council or the Syrian government.
