1. Home
  2.  » 
  3. Russia
  4.  » Turkey shot down Russian jet in Syrian airspace: Source

CNBC and Reuters — Nov 25, 2015

An Su-24m takes off from Hmeymim Airbase outside the Syrian port city of Latakia

An Su-24m takes off from Hmeymim Airbase outside the Syrian port city of Latakia

The United States believes that the Russian jet shot down by Turkey on Tuesday was hit inside Syrian airspace after a brief incursion into Turkish airspace, a U.S. official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The official said that assessment was based on detection of the heat signature of the jet.

The information emerged as the White House said that U.S. President Barack Obama and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan spoke by phone on Tuesday about the need to de-escalate tensions with Russia.

Obama expressed “U.S. and NATO support for Turkey’s right to defend its sovereignty,” the White House said in a statement.

“The leaders agreed on the importance of de-escalating the situation and pursuing arrangements to ensure that such incidents do not happen again,” the statement said.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also appealed to Turkey and Russia to reduce tensions.

Ban hopes “a credible and thorough review will clarify the events and help prevent future recurrences,” U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. “He urges all those who are engaged in military activities in Syria, especially air campaigns, to maximize operational measures to avoid unintended consequences,” Dujarric said.

Turkey shot down the Russian warplane near the Syrian border, saying the jet had violated its air space, in one of the most serious publicly acknowledged clashes between a NATO member country and Russia for half a century.

But Russian President Vladimir Putin said the plane had been attacked when it was 1 km (0.62 mile) inside Syria and warned of “serious consequences” for what he termed a stab in the back administered by “the accomplices of terrorists”.

“We will never tolerate such crimes like the one committed today,” Putin said.

Continues …