Vice-speaker of the Russian Duma suggested evacuating Russian tourists from Turkey following “act of aggression” after Turkish warplanes have shot down a Russian jet which they claim flew into the country’s airspace.
The plane crashed in Syria after violating Turkey’s airspace, the country claims
Ten warnings
The aircraft was shot down after it was warned 10 times in five minutes to leave Turkish airspace, a Turkish military official has said.
It was just over the Syrian border in Turkey when it was downed by F16 Fighting Falcon jets belonging to Turkey, the official added.
NATO session
But Russian President Vladimir Putin said the plane was 4km into Syria and had not violated Turkey’s airspace as it flew at an altitude of 6,000 metres – and claimed it was shot down from the ground not the air.
NATO has announced it will be holding an extraordinary session at 4.30pm GMT after Turkey requested it following the incident.
Emergency meeting
Mr Putin has called an emergency meeting in Russia over the downing of the jet and unverified sources have claimed Russia is currently sending a warship across the Dardenelles from the Black Sea into the Mediterranean.
He said the pilots did not threaten anyone and the incident will have “serious consequences” for Turkish-Russian relations as he called it a “stab in the back”.
Rare incident
The president added: “Large amounts of oil from militants go to and through Turkey.”
The incident is the first time a Russian or Soviet plane has been shot down by a NATO member since the 1950s.
