All news

Turkish FM confirms Russian ambassador summoned again over plane incident

Russia on Monday acknowledged the instance of violation of Turkey’s airspace on October 3, when a Russian Sukhoi-30 warplane briefly entered Turkish airspace by mistake

ANKARA, October 6. /TASS/. Russia’s ambassador to Turkey Andrey Karlov on October was summoned to the Turkish Foreign Ministry again over an alleged second violation of the country’s airspace by a Russian plane, the Foreign Ministry’s press-service said, adding that the ministry had made no official statement on that score.

"We confirm that the Russian ambassador to Turkey was summoned to the Foreign Ministry on October 3 and then on October 5 over what it described as violations of the national airspace on October 3 and 4. At a meeting with Turkey’s deputy foreign minister a protest was lodged with the Russian ambassador over the incident," the Foreign Ministry’s press-service said.

Russia on Monday acknowledged the instance of violation of Turkey’s airspace on October 3, when a Russian Sukhoi-30 warplane briefly entered Turkish airspace by mistake.

Earlier, Turkey’s General Staff claimed in a formal statement that while performing a patrol mission along the Turkish-Syrian border on October 4 a MiG-29 plane of unidentified nationality for five minutes and 40 seconds kept two Turkish F-16 planes on its radar as potential targets. The Turkish Defence Ministry has not yet published any details regarding the October 4 air incident.

"As for the reports Turkish planes on Sunday were allegedly chased by an unidentified MiG-29 fighter jet, they have no bearing on the Russian air group whatsoever," the Russian Defence Ministry’s spokesman Igor Konashenkov told a news briefing on Monday.

"There are no Russian planes of this type at the Khmeimim air base," he said.