Turkey warns Russia on airspace violations

Turkey warned Russia yesterday against violations of its airspace by warplanes straying over the border from Syria, as Nato called an emergency meeting over the "unacceptable" intrusion.

Ankara, a Nato member, protested to Moscow after its F-16 jets intercepted a Russian fighter plane that violated its air space near the Syrian border over the weekend, forcing it to turn back. Two Turkish jets were also harassed by an unidentified MIG-29 on the Syrian border, Turkey's army said.

"Our rules of engagement are clear whoever violates our air space," Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told Haber-Turk television.

"The Turkish Armed Forces are clearly instructed. Even if it is a flying bird, it will be intercepted," he added, but played down the idea of "a Turkey-Russia crisis".

Foreign Minister Feridun Sinirlioglu contacted his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, warning him not to repeat similar incidents.

Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg, meeting with Sinirlioglu in Brussels, criticised the "unacceptable violations of Turkish airspace by Russian combat aircraft".

"I call on Russia to fully respect Nato airspace and avoid escalating tensions with the alliance," Stoltenberg said.

A US official said yesterday the Russian air space violation was probably deliberate. "I don't believe that this was an accident," he said.

Yesterday, Russia's defence ministry said its war planes had carried out strikes on nine IS targets including command centres and communications posts in three provinces in the past 24 hours.

The West has accused Moscow of mainly targeting moderate opponents of the regime.