A Russian military aircraft violated the Turkish air space close to the Syrian border and ignored warnings on Friday, the Foreign Ministry said.
“A Russian Su-34 war plane violated the Turkish air space for nearly 20 to 25 seconds at around 11:46 (local time) on January 29, 2015," the Ministry said in a statement on Saturday.
The Russian plane was warned in English and Russian languages several times before it violated Turkey's airspace near the southeastern province of Gaziantep, the ministry said in its statement.
Senior officials in Ankara summoned the Russian envoy late Friday to protest the violation. The Foreing Ministry urged Moscow to ensure there would be no repeat of the incident.
The Foreign Ministry has repeated its call on Russia to act responsibly and within international standards. “We call on Russia to fully respect Turkish airspace, which is also NATO airspace, to avoid escalating tensions."
"The violation is a clear sign of Russia's irresponsible actions, which may lead to
the
,
despite warnings by Turkey and NATO," the statement said.
The Ministry also warned that Russia will be blamed for any further escalation. "Any consequences of such irresponsible actions will be only Moscow's responsibility," the ministry added.
A Turkish war plane shot down a Russian military aircraft on the border with Syria in November.
Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed the Su-24 was flying over the Syrian territory whem it was hit by air-to-air missiles, fired by Turkish F-16s. His claim was denied by Turkish military officials. The government said the Russian planed continued to violate the Turkish air space on the Syrian border, despite several warnings.
In early October, Russian warplanes had also violated Turkish airspace and Russian officials promised there would be no repeat of such an incident. Later on, Turkey publicly declared that rules of engagement would be implemented in case of any repeat of such violation.
Russia first imposed the economic sanctions just four days after Turkey shot down a Russian SU-24 bomber, which had violated the country's air space despite several warnings to change its route to the South.
The first sanction package imposed on November 28 has included a ban on imports of Turkish farming products, prohibition of travel agencies from offering tours to Turkey and an end to visa-free travel. President Vladimir Putin signed a decree expanding the economic sanctions imposed on Turkey in reprisal for its downing a Russian plane near the Turkish-Syrian border on November 24.
Before leaving for his trip to South Africa, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has seriously condemned the Russian violation of the Turkish airspace.
“Turkey indicates Russia's violation as an attempt that aims to increase tension in the region," he told reporters at Istanbul's Ataturk airport.
Erdoğan is scheduled to hold talks in Chile, Peru, and the Republic of Ecuador respectively. He is making his foreign trip to the countries in South America nearly two years after taking office.
The President's visit will take place between January 31 and February 4. His trip to Chile will be the second visit to the country in nearly 20 years. His visit to Peru and Ecuador will be the fist visit at the president level.
