Diyar Güldoğan
05 October 2015•Update: 06 October 2015
ANKARA
An unidentified MiG-29 fighter jet harassed eight Turkish F-16 jets while they were on patrol near the Turkish-Syrian border on Monday, the Turkish military has said.
According to a statement issued by the Turkish General Staff on Tuesday, the MiG-29 jet kept the Turkish jets on radar lock for 4.5 minutes.
At the same time, Syrian-based missile systems harassed the Turkish jets for 4 minutes and 15 seconds.
The military said Monday an unidentified MiG-29 fighter jet had also harassed two Turkish F-16 jets for more than five minutes on Saturday.
Russia began flying combat missions over Syria on Sept. 30 following an escalation in its military support for President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
The U.S. and its allies have complained of Russian airstrikes against “moderate” forces fighting Assad, despite claims by Moscow that it is targeting Daesh.
Russian fighter jet violates Turkish air space
A Russian fighter jet was intercepted by Turkish warplanes after violating Turkey’s air space, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said Monday.
The Russian plane crossed into the southern province of Hatay on Saturday, according to a statement.
“A fighter aircraft belonging to the Russian Federation violated Turkish airspace at 12:08 [0908GMT] south of the Yayladagi/Hatay region,” the statement said.
“The Russian aircraft exited Turkish airspace into Syria after it was intercepted by two F-16s from the Turkish Air Force, which were conducting patrols in the region.”
Yayladagi lies to the north of a region where Syrian government forces are facing rebel groups not linked to Daesh.
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told the media Monday that Russia claimed the violation was a mistake.
Russia had said it respected Turkey's boundaries and gave assurances that no such violations would occur again, Davutoglu said.
"Whoever violates our airspace, our rules of engagement are clear," he said, adding: "It does not matter which country it is. Russia is our ally and neighbor and the Syrian issue is not a Turkey-Russia crisis".
Earlier, Foreign Minister Feridun Sinirlioglu telephoned Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to complain about the incident and the Russian ambassador was summoned to the Turkish Foreign Ministry. Acting Undersecretary Ahmet Muhtar Gun protested “strongly” about the incursion to the ambassador and demanded it never happen again.
Gun said Russia would be responsible for any “undesired incident” resulting from a future violation.
Sinirlioglu also spoke to Turkey’s NATO allies about the incident.
Britain’s Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond criticized the violation. In a tweet on Monday, Hammond said: “Russian incursion into Turkish airspace raises stakes in what is already a high risk situation.”
Referring to the Russian foreign ministry, he added: “Call on @mfa_russia to desist”.
Russia began flying combat missions over Syria on Sept. 30 following an escalation in its military support for President Bashar al-Assad’s regime. Despite claiming to be targeting Daesh, the U.S. and its allies have complained of Russian airstrikes on “moderate” forces fighting Assad.
Davutoglu also said Turkey was open to dialogue over finding a political solution to the Syrian conflict. He added: "We have carried out many talks with Russia as well. However, it is no benefit at all to support a dictator who destroys his people and to harm moderate opponents and civilians when fighting against terror groups.
"Russia must do whatever is needed to stop the tension in the region from increasing. Syria is not a neighbour to Russia but it is to Turkey. Any crisis in Syria would affect Turkey, not Russia. Therefore, we would not suggest any policy that could harm Turkey or any of our allies... I hope Russia, which has very strong cultural and commercial relations with Turkey, pays attention to avoid such policies."
