BRUSSELS (Sputnik) – The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, sought to ease tensions on Tuesday after a Turkish fighter jet downed Russia’s bomber aircraft in Syria.
"Talked with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg this morning. Need to avoid escalation [between Turkey and Russia]," Mogherini tweeted.
Turkey’s F-16 fired an air-to-air missile at the Russian Aerospace Defense Forces’ Su-24M Fencer jet after what Ankara claimed was a violation of its airspace. The Russian Defense Ministry said objective monitoring data indicated that its aircraft made no incursions toward Turkish airspace.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said the downed aircraft’s pilots posed no threat to Turkey. He said the Su-24 was at a 0.6-mile distance from Turkish airspace when it was struck, crashing 2.5 miles from the Turkish border.
Putin described the Turkish attack as a "stab in the back" carried out by "accomplices of terrorists." The incident marked the first time a NATO member fired at a Russian aircraft in six decades.
