On Monday, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said that Russia’s Alexander Grushko met with bloc’s Deputy Secretary-General Alexander Vershbow to discuss the incident.
"Yes, indeed I had talks with Deputy Secretary-General A. Vershbow over the Su-24 incident…. I laid out the Russian assessment of the incident and cited a series of military and political factors which indicate of the intentional nature of the attack on the Russian plane in the Syrian airspace," Grushko told media.
Grushko noted that NATO was covering up for Ankara, having not assessed Turkey’s actions, and was therefore responsible for the incident.
According to Stoltenberg, Vershbow conveyed to the Russian official NATO’s support for the Turkish right to defend its airspace, as well as the need to deescalate the situation. The NATO official also called for direct Moscow-Ankara contacts.
On November 24, a Russian Su-24 bomber was downed in Syria by an air-to-air missile, fired from a Turkish F-16 fighter jet. According to Ankara, the missile was shot in response to an alleged violation of Turkish airspace.
The Russian General Staff and the Syrian Air Defense Command confirmed that the Su-24 never crossed into Turkish airspace and was downed over Syria.
