ANKARA // Turkey shot down a Russian-made SU-24 near the Syrian border on Tuesday, Turkish presidential sources said, adding that it was downed in line with Turkey’s rules of engagement after violating Ankara’s airspace.
Russia’s defence ministry confirmed that one of its fighter jets was downed in Syria, apparently after coming under fire from the ground, Interfax news agency reported.
The Turkish military said it shot down a plane after it was repeatedly warned about violating Turkish airspace.
But the Russian defence ministry said the Su-24 plane had not violated Turkish airspace. The ministry said the pilots of the jet had ejected and parachuted to the ground.
Footage posted by Turkey’s Anatolia news agency showed plumes of smoke rising behind a mountain a few kilometres from the Turkish border.
Rami Abdel Rahman, who heads the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said the military aircraft crashed in the Turkomen mountains region in the coastal province of Latakia.
The Turkomen mountains region has been the scene of a government offensive over the past days, under the cover of Russian air strikes.
Russian fighter jets entered Turkish air space in two separate incidents in October, prompting Ankara to summon the Russian ambassador twice to protest both violations.
Turkey and Russia have long been at loggerheads over the Syrian conflict, with Ankara seeking the overthrow of president Bashar Al Assad, while Moscow does everything to keep him in power.
The Turkish military in October also shot down a Russian-made drone that had entered its airspace. But Moscow denied the drone belonged to its forces.
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov is due to visit Turkey on Wednesday in a bid to smooth ties and find a joint approach to finding peace in Syria.
* Agencies
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