BELGRADE (Sputnik), Svetlana Alexandrova – A Russian Su-24 attack aircraft was downed by an air-to-air missile launched by the Turkish Air Force on November 24, while carrying out precision strikes against terrorists in northern Syria.
"What happened is an unfortunate incident because downing of a plane is an exception and a very serious act. We call on both sides to deescalate," Linkevicius said on the sidelines of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) ministerial meeting.
The Lithuanian diplomat said the incident was due to Russia’s violating Turkey’s airspace, the claim pushed forward by Ankara.
The Russian General Staff and the Syrian Air Defense Command, as well as the aircraft’s surviving co-pilot, deny the plane crossed into Turkish airspace and say it was illegally downed by Ankara.
The diplomatic spat escalated after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu had refused to apologize for the incident and maintained that the Turkish Air Force followed its rules of engagement.
Putin said in a state of the nation address on Thursday Moscow’s response will be level-headed and based on a sense of duty to the Russian people.
