NATO called on Turkey and Russia to show restraint as tensions rise in the wake of the downing of a Russian jet near the Turkey-Syria border on Tuesday morning. After a meeting of the diplomatic representatives at the NATO Headquarters in Brussels, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said that the military alliance stands by key ally Turkey, but urged both sides to try to calm the crisis.
“As we have repeatedly made clear, we stand in solidarity with Turkey and support the territorial integrity of our NATO ally, Turkey,” Jens Stoltenberg said after an emergency meeting of all 28 members requested by Ankara.
“I look forward to further contacts between Ankara and Moscow and call for calm and de-escalation. Diplomacy and de-escalation are important to resolve this situation.”
Although NATO seems reluctant to fulfill Turkey’s apparent wish for intervention, Ankara finds strong supporters on diplomatic level among its Western allies. During a meeting with French President Francois Hollande in Washington, President Barack Obama sent a strong message saying that “Turkey has the right to defend its national sovereignty.”
It is the geopolitical interests that dictate support or condemnation. The ISIS in Syria may be the common enemy for the USA, NATO and the EU but the three have also a naturally born aversion against Russia not only due to the Cold War past but also because Moscow assists Syrian president Assad. Not to mention the Russian policy in the Ukraine.
Turkish officials said on Tuesday that “the Russian warplane Su-24 was shot down for violating Turkish airspace.”
The Turkish army released radar analysis of downed jet. The Russian Su-24 was over Turkey. that is in Turkish airspace, for 1.67 miles – about 15 seconds.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin likened the incident to being “stabbed in the back”.
“Today’s loss is linked to a stab in the back delivered to us by accomplices of terrorists,” Putin said.
According to Russia Today, Russia’s defense ministry has announced that it is suspending its military cooperation with Turkey following the incident. There are reports that Russian tourist operators follow the Foreign Ministry travel warning and have stopped selling vacation packages for Turkey.
PS and if Russian tourist will not go to Turkey, they most likely come to Greece 🙂
