US, Turkey discuss placing American patrol jets on Syrian border

U.S. warplanes deployed to İncirlik Air Base in the south of Turkey in November are not on patrol duty because Turkey and the U.S. have not yet reached a deal over operating procedures.

The U.S. sent six F-15C type warplanes on Nov. 6 after Turkey sought NATO support against repeated Russian air violations.

Pentagon spokeswoman Laura Seal told Daily Sabah over e-mail that the F-15C's have not been called on to conduct any combat air patrol missions during the current placement. That means U.S. fighter jets were not on duty when Turkey downed a Russian Su-24 over the Syrian border following repeated warnings to keep the aircraft away from Turkish airspace. She said: "This deployment is designed to exercise our ability to deploy aircraft on short notice to support our Turkish allies. We are conducting valuable training missions in the area that help us improve inter-operability with our host nation partners."

Turkish and American officials are discussing ways to reach a bilateral agreement over air patrol procedures, a senior American official said. But the downing of the Russian plane and Russia's new deployments to Latakia, such as the formidable S-400 air defense system complicated the talks. "We are continuing to work on a bilateral agreement with the Turkish Air Force to determine the procedures for conducting air patrols in Turkish airspace. While these procedures are not yet finalized, the discussions are progressing as we continue to work on an agreement that both parties will be satisfied with using in the future," Lt. Col. David Westover, a spokesman from U.S. European Command, which oversees the F-15C's, said.

One senior U.S. air force official said that Turkey's downing of the Russian jet and subsequent deployment of weapons to Syria was making "this whole thing a mess." Although the officials did not confirm on record, the same official said that talks on the procedures included rules of engagement, which Turkey has had a strict stance on since 2012 when a reconnaissance jet was shot down by Syria without warning.