The knocked down lits

The Russian military aircraft again violated the airspace of Turkey. The Russian Ambassador was called to the Turkish Foreign Ministry to present the appropriate note, the official press release of the foreign ministry says.

The incident occurred on January 29 at 11:46 local time. Ankara said that the crew of the Russian Su-34 fighter-bomber received repeated warnings about approaching the border in Russian and English.

In the Turkish Foreign Ministry called the evidence of Russia's desire to strengthen the escalation of tension in the relations of the two countries. “We once again persistently urge Russia to act responsibly and not violate the airspace of Turkey, which is NATO airspace,” the message says. “Such actions can lead to serious consequences, the responsibility for which will be entirely on the Russian Federation.”

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Russia "awaits the consequences" if it continues violations of the Turkish sovereignty. He noted that he would like to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in order to personally discuss the situation.

In connection with the incident, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg made a statement . "I urge Russia to act responsibly and fully respect NATO airspace. Russia must take all the necessary measures to ensure that such violations are not repeated," the document says - NATO is in solidarity with Turkey and supports the territorial integrity of our ally. " At the same time, NATO Secretary General called on the parties to calm and de -escalation of stress.

Stoltenberg recalled that in December the Alliance decided to strengthen Turkey air defense and send AWACS early warning aircraft to the country.

Meanwhile, the Russian Ministry of Defense denies the fact of violation of the Su-34 of the Turkish border. The official representative of the military department, Igor Konashenkov, called the messages "unfounded propaganda." He noted that it is possible to determine the national affiliation of the aircraft only with the help of direct visual contact from another aircraft, which was not. ” “Not to mention the fact that there have long been no voice contacts of the Turkish side with our pilots,” Konashenkov added.

After the start of the Russian air operation in Syria, Türkiye repeatedly accused Russia of violating airspace by combat aircraft. On November 24, the Su-24 Russian bomber was shot down by the air-to-air missile from the Turkish aircraft F-16. According to the Turkish General Staff, the plane, flying about 5 km in the Turkish airspace, came out of it. Ankara claims that, before opening fire, the Turkish military ten times warned an unknown plane that it was 15 km or less from the Border of Turkey. However, the pilots ignored warnings.

This incident has led to a sharp exacerbation of relations between countries. On November 26, Putin said that Turkey has not yet brought an apology for the downed Su-24 . Neither proposals for compensation for damage, nor promises to punish the perpetrators also come from her. "We consider the absolutely unexplained treacherous blows in the back from those in whom we saw partners and allies in the anti -terrorism struggle," the president said. "It seems that the Turkish leadership consciously drives Russian -Turkish relations to a dead end, we will regret it."

On the same day, Erdogan said that Turkey would not apologize for the shot down Russian bomber. “I think, if someone needs to apologize, then it’s not for us to apologize to those who violated our airspace,” said Erdogan. “Turkish Air Force took measures to protect our border within their powers. We cannot interpret the situation differently.”

On November 28, Putin imposed sanctions against Turkey .