Ankara's hands are tied due to "the de facto no-fly zone" Russia has created in northern Syria, Turkish military expert Metin Gurcan told Business Insider. He was referring to the advanced S-400 air defense system, which Moscow deployed to the Hmeymim Air Base following the Su-24 downing in late 2015. "As a result, Turkey has lost its capacity to change the strategic situation both on the ground and in Syrian airspace as an independent actor."
On November 24, a Turkish F-16 fighter jet shot down a Russian bomber, which was on an anti-Daesh mission in Latakia. Ankara claimed that the plane had violated its airspace for 17 seconds and did not respond to warnings, but Russian military officials and the pilot confirmed that the plane did not enter Turkish airspace and did not receive any warnings.
On Saturday, the Russian Ministry of Defense released a statement saying that the alleged Friday airspace violation did not take place. The agency referred to the Turkish claims as "propaganda unsupported by evidence" and provided a detailed explanation of why Ankara's allegations are unfounded.
#SYRIAAircraft of the Russian air group in Syria have not breached the air space of TurkeyRussian Ministry of…
Опубликовано Минобороны России 30 января 2016 г.
Leonid Kalashnikov, deputy chair of State Duma's Foreign Affairs Committee, maintains that Erdogan is using the latest allegations as an attempt to talk to Putin. "Apparently, Erdogan has been unable to meet Putin, so he is using every opportunity," the lawmaker told RIA Novosti.
"I consider these allegations as a futile attempt to justify the treacherous Su-24 downing," Franz Klintsevich, deputy chair of the Defense Committee at the upper-house Federation Council in the Russian parliament, told the news agency.
