ANKARA (Sputnik) – On Monday, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said a Russian military aircraft violated the country’s airspace near Syria on October 3. The Russian Defense Ministry later confirmed that on October 3 an Su-30 Flanker multirole fighter briefly entered Turkish airspace for a few seconds due to poor weather conditions.
"Russia should be sensitive to these issues. We are the number one buyer of Russian natural gas. Losing Turkey will be a serious loss for Russia. If necessary, Turkey can buy natural gas elsewhere," Erdogan told reporters.
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told journalists on Monday that the incident involving a Russian jet entering Turkish airspace had not affected relations between the countries. According to Davutoglu, Moscow assured Ankara that such incidents would not take place in the future.
On September 30, Russia’s Sukhoi Su-25, Su-24M and Su-34 attack aircraft, with the support of Su-30 jets, commenced precision airstrikes against ISIL targets in Syria, following a request from Syrian President Bashar Assad.
