Turkey's downing of Russian warplane - what we know -- BBC

[bsteadman]

Turkey's downing of Russian warplane - what we know

BBC
11/30/2015

Excerpt:

Russia's President Vladimir Putin has condemned Turkey's shooting down of a Russian warplane on its border with Syria.

It is the first time a Russian aircraft has crashed in Syria since Moscow launched air strikes against opponents of President Bashar al-Assad in September.

What happened?

Both Russia and Turkey say the Russian Su-24, an all-weather attack aircraft, was shot down by Turkish F-16s in the Turkey-Syria border area on 24 November.

President Putin said the plane, which had two crew members, was flying at an altitude of 6,000m (19,685ft) when it was hit by an air-to-air missile.

The plane crashed in the mountainous Jabal Turkmen area of the Syrian province of Latakia, which is contested by Syrian government and rebel forces. The pilot as well as a marine sent on a rescue mission by helicopter were killed.

Why was it shot down?

In a letter to the UN Security Council, Turkey's permanent representative Halit Cevik wrote that two aircraft of unknown nationality had approached Turkish airspace near the town of Yayladagi in Hatay province.

The planes were warned 10 times over the space of five minutes via an "emergency" channel and asked to change direction, he added.

Both planes disregarded the warnings and then flew 2.19km (1.36 miles) and 1.85km (1.15 miles) into Turkey for 17 seconds from 09:24:05 (07:24:05 GMT), according to Mr Cevik.

"Following the violation, plane 1 left Turkish national airspace. Plane 2 was fired at while in Turkish national airspace by Turkish F-16s performing air combat patrolling in the area. Plane 2 crashed on to the Syria side of the Turkish-Syrian border."

The Turkish military also published what it said was the radar image of the path the Russian plane took, showing it briefly flying across Turkey's southern-most tip.

But Mr Putin said the Su-24 was over Syrian territory, 1km (0.6 miles) from Syria's border with Turkey, when it was hit. It crashed 4km from the border, he added.

The Russian defence ministry insisted that the aircraft remained within Syria's borders throughout its mission, did not violate Turkish airspace and received no warnings.

It published a video showing what it said was the Su-24's flight path.

The pilot who survived the crash, Capt Konstantin Murakhtin, told Russian television he had not received a warning before being shot down.

US military officials said there were indications the downed plane entered Turkish airspace for a matter of seconds, and that it had been warned to stay out.

More details were given on 27 November by Russian air force commander Gen Viktor Bondarev. He said Russian and Syrian radar data pointed towards an "ambush" by the two Turkish F-16s.

The F-16s spent one hour and 15 minutes flying in the area where the incident happened, he said, and the one that fired the missile penetrated 2km inside Syria, spending 40 seconds in Syrian airspace.

The timings showed that they could not have taken off from their Diyarbakir airbase for the interception - they were poised to attack, he said.

The two Su-24s had just bombed two groups of rebels and one was shot down just after completing another bombing run, 5.5km south of Turkey, he said.
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[bsteadman]

Was Russia warplane downing an overreaction?

BBC
By Jonathan Marcus Defence and diplomatic correspondent
11/24/2015

Excerpt:

There have been several incursions by Russian jets into Turkish airspace since Moscow's air campaign in Syria began. Turkey has also shot down Syrian aircraft that intruded across the border.

Ankara has championed its tough rules of engagement, and so nobody could have been in any doubt that if combat aircraft strayed into Turkey again, they might receive a robust response.

But this episode is a little more complicated than that.

Of course, the two sides' accounts differ. Russian President Vladimir Putin insists that the aircraft was not in Turkish airspace and was actually shot down over Syrian territory.

The Turks say the aircraft was warned about entering Turkey several times, and, when it did not change course, was shot down.

The problem is that according to a radar map released by the Turks themselves, the Russian Sukhoi could at best be described as crossing over Turkish territory.

It flew over a small piece of Turkey that projects into Syria - a tiny isthmus of land that would have taken the fast jet only a few moments to fly over.

So if the plane was shot down, as the Turks say, after entering Turkish airspace, you could equally say it was downed on the way out of Turkish territory too.

There is of course a back-story here as well. Russian air power has been assisting recent ground attacks by the Syrian army against Turkmen militia forces in northern Syria.

These groups are backed, and to some extent armed, by the Turkish authorities, and Ankara has taken a very dim view of Russia's air strikes against them.

So did the Turks overreact to a Russian incursion? Or was Ankara itching for an opportunity to send a robust message to Moscow?

Either way, Russia and Turkey are not at war, and despite some tough rhetoric, especially from Mr Putin, this episode may ultimately be put down to experience.

However, it all comes at a very delicate moment and it highlights once again the complexity of Syria's multiple conflicts.
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http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-34914375

[bsteadman]

Russia has ‘more proof’ ISIS oil routed through Turkey, Erdogan says he’ll resign if it’s true

RT
11/30/2015

Excerpt:

Russia has received additional intelligence confirming that oil from deposits controlled by Islamic State is moved through Turkey on an industrial scale, said Vladimir Putin. President Recep Erdogan said he will resign if this is confirmed.

Moscow has grounds to suspect that the Su-24 was downed by Turkish jets on November 24 to secure illegal oil deliveries from Syria to Turkey, he said speaking on the sidelines of the climate change summit in Paris on Monday.

“At the moment we have received additional information confirming that that oil from the deposits controlled by Islamic State militants enters Turkish territory on industrial scale,” he said.

“We have every reason to believe that the decision to down our plane was guided by a desire to ensure security of this oil’s delivery routes to ports where they are shipped in tankers,” Putin said.

Speaking in Paris on Monday, President Recep Erdogan said that he will leave office if there is proof of Turkey’s cooperation with IS.

“We are not that dishonest as to buy oil from terrorists. If it is proven that we have, in fact, done so, I will leave office. If there is any evidence, let them present it, we’ll consider [it],” he said, as quoted by TASS.

The countries from which Turkey buys oil are “well known,” said Erdogan.

He called on Russia to comment on the US’ recent black-listing of Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, the World Chess Federation President, accusing him of “materially assisting and acting for or on behalf of the Government of Syria.” Erdogan alleged Ilyumzhinov had been dealing with Islamic State oil.

Terrorists have been abusing the visa-free regime between Russia and Turkey to move freely, the Russian leader said adding that Ankara failed to address the issue after Russia raised it.
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View the complete article, including images, at:

https://www.rt.com/news/324045-putin...an-su-downing/