Turkey summons Russia envoy over 'new airspace breach'

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A Russian SU-34 jet has violated Turkish airspace despite radar warnings, Turkey's foreign ministry said, and the Russian ambassador was summoned over the incident.

The ministry said in a statement on Saturday that the violation, which allegedly occurred on Friday, was a clear sign that Russia wanted issues between the two countries to escalate.

The Russian defense ministry dismissed the allegations as "baseless propaganda".

"There has not been a single violation of Turkish airspace by Russia air force planes in Syria," ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov told Russian news agencies.

However, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan insisted that a Russian jet breached the skies over his country and warned Russia of "consequences" if it continued to violate Turkish airspace.

"The airspace that is violated is not only Turkish airspace but NATO's as well," Erdogan said.

"So NATO is closely watching the situation. NATO even detected this violation before we did. If Russia continues to violate Turkey's sovereignty, has to put up with the consequences. I suggested talking with (Russian President Vladimir) Putin but he didn't come back to me by phone..."

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg urged Russia to "take all necessary measures" to ensure the bloc's airspace was not violated again.

"A Russian combat aircraft violated Turkish airspace yesterday, despite repeated warnings by the Turkish authorities. Previous incidents have shown how dangerous such behaviour is," Stoltenberg said in a statement.

"I call on Russia to act responsibly and to fully respect NATO airspace."

Turkey shot down a Russian warplane in November in an incident that wrecked relations between the two countries, both of which are involved in Syria's war.

PHOTO CAPTION

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, seen in Ankara on January 28, 2016, warns that Russia would "have to face consequences if it keeps up such violations" after the Turkish foreign ministry said a Russian Su-34 plane violated Turkish airspace (AFP Photo)

Al-Jazeera

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