Russian Warplane Incident: Russia Calls Turkish Attack 'Planned Provocation,' Russian Pilot Rescued
Russia is casting doubt on the circumstances that led Turkey to down one of its fighter jets on Tuesday, calling the attack a "planned provocation."
Tensions are rising between the two countries, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov appearing on Russian TV on Wednesday to accuse Turkey of foul play.
"We have serious doubts this was an unintended incident and believe this is a planned provocation," Lavrov said after talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, The Washington Post reports.
Lavrov also attempted to ease fears of a possible military response, making clear that Russia would not be going to war with Turkey.
Russia has, however, decided to strengthen its forces in Syria, deploying S-400 defense missile systems to its airbase at Latakia, close to Turkish territory.
Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Russia knowingly violated his country's airspace and accused Russia of attempting to bolster Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime rather than combat ISIS.
"Do not deceive us! We know the locations of Daesh," Erdogan said, referring to the ISIS terror group. He said there were no ISIS militants in the area the Russian warplanes were flying.
Turkey claimed it shot down the Russian Su-24 jet after multiple warnings to leave its airspace. Russia denied this story and claimed Turkey made no attempt to contact its pilots.
Earlier, Russian officials said that one of the plane's pilots was "alive and well" after being rescued from rebel-held territory.
According to NBC News, the plane crashed in an area populated with Syrian rebels fighting against al-Assad's regime.
The recovered pilot was identified as Capt. Konstantin Murtakhtin. His colleague, Lt. Col. Oleg Peshkov, was pronounced dead by Russian officials after he was killed by militants. Russian media is reporting Capt. Murtakhtin said Turkey did not give a warning before firing.
A Russian Marine, Alexander Pozynich, was also killed, when a helicopter came under fire during the search-and-rescue-operation. His helicopter was destroyed by a TOW-launched rocket from rebel forces in the area.
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