NATO member Turkey just shot down Russian military jet

Tue Nov 24 06:31:32 PST 2015

"According to Putin, Russia has always treated Turkey not simply as a
close neighbour, but as a friendly state." I guess that position is
now officially off the table. May be not the smartest move by Turkey?
I'm not getting the feeling that shooting down a Russian jet in Syria
was a good idea (even if it had been in Turkish airspace minutes
prior).

I hope this does not escalate.

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http://tass.ru/en/politics/838825
"
Putin: Russia will not tolerate such crimes as attack against its
Sukhoi-24 plane
November 24, 15:53 UTC+3
According to the president, the attack against Su-24 plane in Syria
goes beyond normal struggle against terrorism, and it is "a stab in
Russia’s back" delivered by "terrorism accomplices"

SOCHI, November 24. /TASS/. Russia will not tolerate crimes like the
attack on the Russian Su-24 fighter jet shot down by the Turkish Air
Force in Syrian skies, President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday at a
meeting with King of Jordan Abdullah II.

"I understand each country has its own regional interests, and we have
always respected that. But we shall never tolerate crimes like today's
one," the president said.

The Russian leader stressed that the downed fighter-bomber was posing
no threat to Turkey.

"Our pilots and jet posed no threat to the Turkish Republic. This is
obvious. They were conducting an operation against ISIL," Putin said.

He stressed the plane was flying above northern Lattakia where
militants coming from Russia are concentrated.

"The Russian bomber was shot down over Syria by an air-to-air surface
fired from a Turkish F-16 plane when the bomber was at an altitude of
6,000 meters at a distance of 1 km from the Turkish bomber." Putin
said.

"They [the pilots] were fulfilling their task," the president stressed
adding that they were delivering preventive air strikes on terrorists
who can come back to Russia at any moment.

Putin called the attack a crime and stressed that Russia would not
tolerate it. According to the president, the Su-24 plane crash in
Syria goes beyond normal struggle against terrorism, and it is "a stab
in Russia’s back delivered by terrorist accomplices."

"Today’s loss is linked with a stab in our back delivered by terrorism
accomplices. I can’t characterize otherwise what has happened today,"
the Russian leader said.

According to the president, Russia has long been aware of oil supplies
to Turkey from Syria’s territories seized by terrorists, which
provided tangible financial support for the extremists.

"We’ve long exposed heavy trafficking of oil and petroleum products
from Islamic State-seized territories," Putin said, adding that
monetary support for the militant groups was large, indeed.

 Read also
 Czech Republic's President Milos Zeman
 Czech president denounces Turkey’s actions over Russian bomber crash

"Now we’ve suffered stabs in the back: attacks against our planes that
fight with terrorism," Putin said. He pointed out that Turkey attacked
Russia’s Sukhoi-24 although "we have signed agreements with the
American partners on the prevention of incidents in the air, and
Turkey, as is known, is among the countries that have declared they
are ostensibly fighting against terrorism within the US-led
coalition.".

Putin noted that Turkey’s contacts with NATO member states after the
attack against the Russian aircraft look like an attempt to make the
alliance serve terrorists.

The Russian leader said that instead of immediately establishing
contacts with Russia after the bomber incident, "the Turkish side
applied to its NATO partners to discuss this issue, as far as we
know."

"It seems as if we have shot down a Turkish plane and not vice versa,"
the Russian president said.

"So, does this mean that they want NATO to serve the Islamic State?"
Putin noted.

The president said the attack on the Russian jet will have tragic
consequences to Russia-Turkey ties.

"We will certainly carefully analyse what has happened and today’s
tragic event will have serious consequences to Russian-Turkish
relations," he said. According to Putin, Russia has always treated
Turkey not simply as a close neighbour, but as a friendly state.

"I have no idea who needed what has happened today, but in any case
it’s not us," the Russian president said.

He expressed hope "the international community will find the forces to
unite in the face of this common evil (terrorism)."

Turkey's military attache in Russia has been summoned to the Russian
Defense Ministry.
"

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http://russia-insider.com/en/politics/act-war-turkey-shoots-down-russian-military-jet/ri11406
"ACT OF WAR: Turkey Shoots Down Russian Military Jet

Turkey claims the Su-24 violated Turkish airspace, but the Russian
government says it has proof that the plane was flying over Syria

A NATO member just shot down a Russian military jet...

Absolutely unreal news coming from Syria: Turkish F-16 fighters have
shot down a Russian Su-24 tactical bomber. The details:

    http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/turkey-shoots-down-russian-jet-near-syrian-border-and-video-shows-plane-coming-down-a6746206.html

    Turkey has shot down a Russian military jet which it says violated
its airspace near the Syrian border.

    The Russian Defence Ministry and Turkish Presidency, quoted in
Russian and Turkish media reports, have both described the plane as
Russian, and video posted by the Haberturk TV station appeared to show
the jet coming down in flames.

    A military official, quoted by Turkey's Dogan news agency, said
the plane was shot down by Turkish F16s, and that the pilot was given
prior warning.

    Various reports described the plane as coming down in hostile
Syrian territory, and the fate of the two pilots on board was unknown.

Initial reports claim that the pilots successfully ejected and are
safe. But the story is developing.

The Russian Ministry of Defense says that it has proof that the plane
was flying in Syrian, not Turkish, airspace at the time of the attack.

We cannot emphasize enough how jaw-droppingly dumb Turkey is: A NATO
member just shot down a Russian military jet.

UPDATE: A video has surfaced claiming to show the body of one of the
pilots. The fate of the second pilot is still unknown.
"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ydw14n8OYdI

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http://russia-insider.com/en/politics/graphic-video-moderate-rebels-display-body-russian-pilot-shot-down-turkey/ri11409
"
Graphic Video: Terrorists Display Body of Russian Pilot Shot Down by Turkey

A video has surfaced that allegedly shows “moderate rebels”
celebrating over the body of a Russian pilot whose plane was shot down
earlier today by Turkey

An act of war. Plain and simple.

In a disturbing development, it appears that at least one of the two
Russian pilots who were shot down over Syria by Turkey earlier today
is dead. The below video allegedly shows the west's favorite “moderate
rebels” celebrating over the dead body of one of the pilots, who
apparently was able to eject from the plane but did not survive.

Is NATO really going to defend this barbarity? Unfortunately the
answer could be “yes”.
"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aryCZEKIlgs

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http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/russian-plane-shot-down-live-russian-defence-minister-confirms-jet-shot-down-by-turkey-latest-a6746256.html

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/11/turkey-shoots-warplane-syria-border-151124081519290.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/25/world/europe/turkey-syria-russia-military-plane.html?_r=0

http://tass.ru/en/politics/838765