Experts: Downing of Russian jet 'in line with intl' law'

ANKARA

Turkey's downing of a Russian military plane violating its airspace is in line with international law practices, according to experts.

A Russian fighter-bomber was shot down earlier Tuesday by Turkish F-16s after being repeatedly warned about violating Turkish airspace.

According to the Turkish military, the plane was shot down near Syria's Bayirbucak area in line with standard rules of engagement.

Media footage showed two parachutes floating to the ground before the aircraft crashed in a plume of smoke in northwest Syria.

A professor of International Relations at Abant Izzet Baysal University, Mehmet Dalar, told Anadolu Agency that a country, of which the airspace is being violated, has the right to "intervene" in accordance with international law, if its warnings are not heeded.

"In such a situation, if a country deems it [the violation of airspace] a close security threat, it can intervene," Dalar said, adding that Turkey had the obligation of protecting its sovereignty, and its borders close to areas of conflict, even though it was not at war with Syria.

"The plane was downed because the pilots did not heed the warnings [of the Turkish military]. Even if it was downed within Syrian territory, what matters is the violation [of airspace]. The plane may very well have been shot down within Turkish airspace, and it may have crashed on Syrian land. The important thing is whether or not it violated the Turkish airspace. If it did, then Turkey's downing it is in line with international law," he said.

A professor of international law at Yildirim Beyazit University in Ankara, Yasin Poyraz, said that a country has the right to take all necessary measures including downing the violating foreign jet that disregards warnings.

"The critical thing here is that a warning was made. The continued violation despite 10 warnings is the most important factor that justifies Turkey's action. If there has been a violation, then even downing the plane within Syrian territory does not change a thing," he said.

- Turkey exercised its "legitimate right of self-defense"

Another professor of international law at Ozyegin University, Mesut Hakki Casin, noted that a foreign plane entering Turkish airsplace violated border security and national sovereignty, giving Turkey the right to down it.

"We see that the plane insisted on violating [the Turkish airsplace], and was shot down in turn. Therefore, Turkey exercised its legitimate right of self-defense here, in accordance with the Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations," Casin said, adding that Russia had to respect Turkey's border security.

Russian warplanes previously violated Turkish airspace twice in October. The incidents came within a few days of the start of Russia’s air campaign in Syria on Sept. 30 and led to international condemnation.