by Daily Sabah with Agencies
Jan 30, 2016 12:00 am
NATO head Jens Stoltenberg on Saturday warned Russia it must "fully respect" alliance airspace as key member Turkey blasted Moscow for "irresponsible behavior" over a new violation.
"A Russian combat aircraft violated Turkish airspace yesterday, despite repeated warnings by Turkish authorities," Stoltenberg said in a statement, adding:
"I call on Russia to act responsibly and to fully respect NATO airspace. Russia must take all the necessary measures to ensure that such violations do not happen again. Previous incidents have shown how dangerous such behavior is." As in the November crisis, Stoltenberg called for "calm and de-escalation," welcoming contacts between Ankara and Moscow.
At the same time, he made absolutely clear that NATO would stand by Turkey, the second largest military power in the alliance after the United States.
"NATO stands in solidarity with Turkey and supports the territorial integrity of our ally, Turkey."
He recalled that the 28-nation alliance had agreed in December to help bolster Turkey's defenses with the deployment of AWACS early warning and surveillance aircraft but added the caveat that this decision predated the latest incident.
Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) have reportedly entered the "orange alarm" phase, which means being ready for everything at any time, and pilots in the Diyarbakır 8th Main Jet Base Command have been authorized to hit a target without receiving an order in a likely violation of airspace and other situations.
Speaking to reporters before his official visit to Chile, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Saturday criticized Russia's breach and said that Russia will have to face the consequences if it continues to act irresponsibly.
"We see this as a result of Russia's efforts to escalate the crisis in the region," Erdoğan said and underscored that the issue is also being closely followed by NATO, as Turkey is a member of the alliance and Turkish airspace is considered to be NATO airspace.
"If Russia continues to violate Turkey's sovereignty, it will have to face the consequences," Erdoğan said and added that irresponsible steps taken by Russia, such as the violation of Turkish airspace, have no benefit for global peace.
The president also noted that he did not get a response after he wanted to meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin following the violation of Turkey's airspace by the Russian jet.
On Jan. 29, Russian jets were warned in English and Russian before they violated Turkey's airspace for 20-25 seconds near the southeastern province of Gaziantep.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Russian envoy, while strongly protesting and condemning the incident.
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