MADRID (Sputnik) – Heightened tensions between Russia and Turkey following the downing of a Russian Su-24 jet by a Turkish fighter will complicate the Vienna negotiations on settling the Syrian conflict, former NATO Secretary General Javier Solana said Wednesday.
On Tuesday, a Russian Su-24 jet crashed in Syria. Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the plane was downed by an air-to-air missile launched by a Turkish F-16 jet over Syrian territory, falling 2.5 miles from the Turkish border.
"Turkish-Russian tension will hinder talks in Vienna. The preparation of the ‘white list’ of Syrian rebels more difficult," Solana tweeted.
La tensión Turquía-Rusia dificultará las conversaciones de Viena.La confección de la "lista blanca" de rebeldes sirios más difícil
— Javier Solana (@javiersolana) November 25, 2015
Speaking to reporters after phone talks with his Turkish colleague Wednesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the so-called Vienna process on ending the Syrian conflict cannot move forward without agreement on a common list of terrorist organizations.
Russia insists that the Russian Su-24 had never crossed into Turkish airspace, citing precise objective control data.
Solana served as NATO secretary general in 1955-99.
