Via Fox News:
NATO has called an emergency meeting in Brussels on Tuesday after two Turkish F-16 fighter jets shot down a Russian warplane near Turkey’s border with Syria in an incident that raises the possibility of conflict between Moscow and NATO.
“The aim of this extraordinary North Atlantic Council meeting is for Turkey to inform allies about the downing of a Russian airplane,” NATO’s deputy spokesperson Carmen Romero told the Associated Press.
A U.S. official confirmed to Fox News that the Russian Sukhoi-24 was downed by an air-to-air missile north of the Syrian port city of Latakia. The official added that the Russian jet was warned three times to depart Turkish airspace.
The official told Fox News that the Su-24’s two pilots parachuted safely and were last seen attempting to evade capture. Two Russian helicopters were airborne to attempt a rescue mission.
Russia recently drafted 150,000 conscripts, and with hot wars raging in the Ukraine and Syria, perhaps this is something they anticipated. The Russians claim that they were engaged in anti-terror activity inside Syria, while Turkey is claiming that the Russian aircraft were repeatedly warned that they were violating Turkish airspace.
Russia and China have in the past engaged in provocative military exercises, but this is an unprecedented turn of events. To date, the Russians have avoided direct engagement with NATO member states. Although Turkey is a NATO member state, the pro Islamist policies pursued by Erdogan have rankled many in the West. Whatever happens next, it’s clear that the next 24 hours will be fascinating.
AAN Staff
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