TURKEY/RUSSIA: All you can eat (read), fish and chips (abot the russian plane downed in Turkey)

Turkey shooting down plane was 'planned provocation' says Russia, as rescued pilot claims he had no warning - latest

Russian and Syrian special forces free second pilot of a Russian warplane shot down by Turkey, says defence minister.

Russia to call on UN to investigate funding for terrorists

Russia will call on the United Nations to investigate funding channels linked to terrorist groups operating in Syria, in an apparent diplomatic response to Turkey's downing of a Russian jet, writes Roland Oliphant.

More than 20 countries, including Russia, the United States, and Britain, agreed to draw up a list of commonly recognised terrorist organisations at peace talks in Vienna earlier this month.

"I think that now we will insist that besides this list, members of the Vienna group must also agree to common understanding on those channels by which terrorists receive resources. and support," he said.

The comments came after Vladimir Putin accused Turkey of effectively facilitating Isil's support network by turning a blind eye to oil smuggling through its territory.

Reports of aid trucks hit by air strike in Syria

Footage filmed at a crossing on the Syrian side of the border with Turkey's southern province of Kilis showed trucks burning on Wednesday after what aid workers said was an apparent air strike.

The head of the rebel-run border crossing in the same area said separately that air strikes hit a garage for commercial trailers, killing three people.

"Our teams helped to extinguish the fire... The trucks do not belong to us and there is no information on who bombed them," Mustafa Ozbek, an Istanbul-based official from the Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH), told Reuters.

The aid worker who filmed the aftermath initially said it appeared aid trucks had been targeted.

IHH's civil defense teams are on the ground after Russian warplanes hit an aid truck in Azaz, #Syria.

7:51 AM - 25 Nov 2015

Rescued Russian airman claims there were no warnings from Turkey. A Russian airman who has survived the downing of his warplane says Turkish jets did not issue any visual or radio warnings.

Rescued navigator Konstantin Murakhtin

Captain Konstantin Murakhtin said that he couldn't possibly have flown over into Turkish airspace because the crew knew the region "like the back of their hand".

Pilot Oleg Peshkov   Photo: East2West

Russian soldier named Alexandr Pozynich was killed during the 12-hour operation to rescue Cpt Murahtin  Photo: East2West

Mr Muravkin was rescued early this morning by Russian and Syrian commandoes and was speaking in televised comments from the Russian Hemeimeem air base in Syria.

Russia hitting Turkey where it hurts

Russian news agency RIA Novosti reports that Russian deputies have submitted a bill to hold to account anyone who denies the Armenian genocide.

This is rather unsubtle dig to Turkey - who deny that the 1915 massacres constitute a genocide. It is believed this lasted until 1917 and led to 1.5 million Armenians killed - a figure Turkey disputes, putting the figure at 300,000 to 600,000.

In total, 18 countries accept the massacres as genocide, including Germany, Greece, and France.

Russia urges citizens to stay away from Turkey

The great Russian tourist embargo appears to have begun, writes Roland Oliphant.

The Russian association of tour operators says several of the biggest travel firms in the country, including Pegas Turistik, Coral Travel, and Biblio Globus - major names on the market here - have stopped selling trips to Turkish resorts.

The Russian government hasn't expressly banned companies from selling Turkish holidays, but the has advised Russian citizens to stay away for safety reasons. About four million Russian tourists visit Turkey every year, making it one of the most popular destinations after Egypt.

Protesters hurl eggs and stones at Moscow's Turkish embassy

Protesters have hurled eggs and stones at the Turkish embassy in Moscow.

Windows at the embassy's compound were shattered and eggs pelted against the walls on Wednesday after a protest there went sour. Police cleared the area and and made some arrests shortly after the protest began.

Young men with LDPR flags through (imported?) eggs at turkish consulate, moscow.

Stones, bottles, eggs. Broken glass in front of #Turkish #embassy in #Moscow

The activists broke several windows at the Turkish embassy as Moscow police urged them to stop the protest but did not intervene, an AFP photographer reported from the scene.

Some chanted slurs against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, while one of the placards read: "Turkey you will remain without gas."

Russian foreign minister backs Hollande's bid to close Turkey-Syria border

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday backed a proposal by French leader Francois Hollande to close off the Syria-Turkey border to prevent the flow of fighters crossing the frontier.

"I think this is a good proposal and that tomorrow President Hollande will talk to us in greater detail about it. We would be ready to seriously consider the necessary measures for this," Lavrov told journalists ahead of Hollande's visit to Moscow on Thursday.

Tensions ramped up - but what does it mean?

Our Middle East reporter Louisa Loveluck has been analysing the war of words.

Quote...

Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, has ramped up tensions with Turkey this morning by describing the downing of the Su-24 as a “planned provocation” that will case Moscow to “seriously reassess” its relationship with Ankara.

So far, the war of words has yielded few serious consequences for Turkey, mostly because Russia has too much to lose. The two countries are important trading partners and it would be damaging to shake those ties at a time when both economies are on the rocks.

And despite being at odds over the future of Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president, cooperation between Russia and Turkey is vital if a political solution to the Syria’s civil war is to be reached.

Before yesterday’s diplomatic clash, there had been rumours that Russia was willing to back a ceasefire, viewing it as an opportune time to pull much of its military force out of Syria. This may well now have changed.

Attack on Turkish Efes brewery in Russia

Russian news agency Interfax reports that an Efes brewery, owned by a Turkish company, was attacked last night in Ulyanovsk, Russia.

They removed the Turkish flag, pelting it with eggs, and raising a Russian flag there instead.

They also tried to break down the door to the building, and failed, as well as writing insulting messages on the pavement outside to the Turkish president.

The unidentified attackers took the Turkish flag down and threw eggs at it  Photo: Lifenews.ru

How to decode the Russians

"Provocation" is one of the most important words in the Russian diplomatic lexicon, explains Roland Oliphant.

It can be used in a straightforward sense to accuse another country of a pre-meditated aggressive act to provoke a response, but it more usually implies something else - that the incident in question was staged by another power in order to frame Russia or one of its allies.

In short, it is an accusation of premeditation, implies a certain degree of hostile conspiracy, and wholly places the blame on the other party. It saw a lot of use during the crisis in Ukraine.

In this context, Sergei Lavrov appears to be saying that Turkey either had ordered its pilots to shoot down a Russian aircraft as soon as there was scrap of pretext for doing so (if the SU-24 did indeed stray into Turkish airspace), or that, even more nefariously, it deliberately fabricated the claim of an airspace violation to justify a pre-planned shoot down.

At one level, this is simply an expression of outrage that any government would make if someone shot down one of its aircraft.

It's also a choice of words that plays into the narrative, voiced by Vladimir Putin yesterday, that Turkey "stabbed Russia in the back" for attacking its terrorist clients Isil.

But Mr Lavrov has also implied that America may bear some responsibility, since Turkey is a Nato ally flying US-built planes with US-built weapons. There's a hint - but not quite an open accusation - that Washington and Nato may have had a hand in this.

Turkey and Russia to meet... or will they?

Turkey's Foreign Ministry says the foreign ministers of Turkey and Russia have agreed to meet for talks over the downing of a Russian warplane. Russia's foreign minister, however, said that a meeting hadn't been confirmed.

Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Tanju Bilgic said in a written statement that Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov agreed to a meeting "in the coming days," during a telephone conversation.

The two agreed to share details on the incident through "diplomatic and military channels."

But Lavrov said during a live TV interview that they had no concrete plans for a meeting. Lavrov said that he suggested that he and Cavusoglu could meet on the sidelines of some international event, but didn't say there is any such plan.

Russian foreign minister: downing of jet was 'planned provocation'

Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, is giving a televised briefing on Russia's response to the shoot down, writes Roland Oliphant.

He has described Turkey's shoot down of a Russian jet as "planned provocation" and says Russia will "seriously reassess" relations with Ankara. But he seems to have ruled out military retaliation, saying Russia is not going to war with Turkey.

Interestingly, he's also hinted at American culpability in the incident, saying the missile used was American made and pointing out Turkey is meant to be a member of the US-led coalition against Isil - and thus nominally subject to the "deconfliction" agreement the Pentagon and Russian military chiefs negotiated to avoid clashes in the air over Syria.

What the Turkish papers say

Among some pro-government newspapers, editorials support the actions of the Turkish government but among some commentators in Turkey, there is concern for Russia-Turkey relations, writes Raziye Akkoc.

One writer in Hurriyet Daily News, an English-language newspaper in Turkey, fears that if tension is not defused, then Syria could "transform into a battlefield where the Turkish and Russian militaries will even more frequently confront each other".

Serkan Demirtas, a Turkish journalist, suggests relations could also take a while to return to normal and an expected visit in the near future by Mr Erdogan to Moscow could be in danger of cancellation. Of course, this is not surprising since the Russian foreign minister cancelled his visit for today on Tuesday afternoon.

There is no doubt among many within the establishment, a breakdown in relations is not wanted since Demirtas highlights how the two countries have a "unique relationship" and makes much of Turkey and Russia's trade ties. He says that bilateral trade volume is nearly $35 billion (£23 billion).

This is perhaps why Turkey is keen to stress publicly that their target was not a country, despite Mr Davutoglu's warnings about attacks on Turkmen mentioned earlier.

Daily Sabah, a pro-ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) newspaper,has an an editorial with the provocative headline: "Peril posed by Putin in Mideast runs parallel to Daesh," using the Arabic acronym for Isil.

The editorial condemns Russia's actions in Ukraine and Crimea, saying it had a "total disregard of the international system".

The newspaper then adds that Russia's "repeated violations of the airspaces of Nato member countries places it at an international threat level at least equal to that of Daesh in the eyes of the West". The piece goes on to claim that Russia's actions are "no different" to Isil.11:11

Putin: we cannot rule out other incidents in Turkey

Vladimir Putin has elaborated on the Russian foreign ministry's advice for Russians to avoid visiting Turkey, writes Roland Oliphant.

"After what happened yesterday, we cannot rule out other incidents, and if they occur one way or another we will have to react. And our citizens in Turkey, of course, could be exposed to considerable danger, and the foreign ministry is obliged to talk about that," he said.

Yesterday Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, advised Russians against holidaying in Turkey because the terrorist threat was similar to that in Egypt, where a Russian airliner was attacked by terrorists last month.

About four million Russians visit Turkey every year, so if Russians stop visiting it could have a big impact on the country's tourism economy. Some kind of limit on tourist travel - possibly in the form of flight suspension or forbidding travel firms from selling package tours to Turkey - appears to be one retaliatory measure Russia is considering.

Turkish PM: attacks on Turkmens cannot be carried out on pretext of hitting Isil

The Turkish prime minister has warned Russia that attacks on the Turkmen minority could not be justified using the pretext of fighting Isil, writes Raziye Akkoc.

Ahmet Davutoglu was speaking today and said: "No one can legitimise attacks on Turkmens in Syria using the pretext of fighting Daesh," using the Arabic acronym for the extremist group.

He added that he personally gave the orders to the Turkish general chief of staff about shooting down jets which intruded into its airspace.

In his same speech, he criticised the way Turkey was described as a dictatorship but when France acted in a high-handed manner, it was not given the same criticisms.

"After Paris attacks, France prohibited protests. If Turkey had done so, people would say there's ‘dictatorship’ in Turkey."

But here Mr Davutoglu is making wild claims. France had just seen 130 of its citizens killed when it declared a state of emergency while in Turkey, people can be taken to court for "insulting the president" or sharing images critical of Mr Erdogan.

Russia to continue launching airstrikes

Despite yesterday's furore, Russia has vowed this morning that it will continue to launch airstrikes along the Turkish border, writes Louisa Loveluck.

"We would like for the terrorists and militants to keep further away from the Turkish border, but unfortunately they tend to be situated on the Syrian territory close to the Turkish border," said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. "(Russia's) operations will continue without doubt."

Moscow's initial military intervention was aimed at shoring up regime defences in Syria's far north-west - where the Russian plane was shot down yesterday - and the battle there remains crucial for the Assad regime's survival.09:54

Russia sending hi-tech air defence system

Sergei Shoigu has announced the deployment of Russia's most advanced anti-aircraft missile - the S-400 - to Syria in the wake of the Tuesday's shoot down, writes Roland Oliphant.

The S-400 first came into service in 2007. It is the next generation of the S-300, a particularly effective air defence missile system that Russia periodically offers to sell to Iran as a way of alarming Israel and keeping the Iranians sweet.

With a maximum range of 400 kilometres (about 250 miles), an S400 system based at Russia's Khmeimim airbase near Latakia would easily cover the area where Turkish jets shot down a Russian SU-24 on Tuesday, and would even potentially threaten Turkish aircraft on the other side of the border.

The defence ministry has already announced other counter measures, including fighter escorts for bombing missions, and the deployment of the missile cruiser Moskva, which carries S-300s, to an air defence role in coastal waters of Latakia region. The defence ministry said on Tuesday night that the ship had been ordered to engage "any target that appears to be a threat."

The Moskva has been cruising the eastern Mediterranean with a Russian flotilla for several weeks, and interceptor fighter jets - aircraft designed to engage other planes rather than bomb ground targets - were deployed along with bombers when Russian began its intervention two months ago, precisely to deter Turkish or other country's airforces from interfering with Russian operations.

Russian S-400 Triumf missile carrier are seen on Tverskaya street during the parade rehearsal  Photo: Rex

Turkey ignored that implicit deterrent, so the latest announcements seem intended to make it explicit - and to make clear Russia won't think twice about getting even should a Turkish jet give them the chance.

Vladimir Putin today backed a recommendation from the foreign ministry for Russians not to visit Turkey.

"After such tragic events like the destruction of our plane and the death of our pilot, this is a necessary measure," Putin said in televised comments.09:41

Putin decorates pilot and rescuers for bravery

Vladimir Putin has ordered the surviving pilot and his rescuers to be decorated for bravery, writes Roland Oliphant.

"He has been rescued, I understand he us already back at base, at the aerodrome. He and all those who participated in this operation, including the rescue mission, will receive state awards. The defence ministry proposed this," Mr Putin told reporters.

Lt. Col Oleg Peshov, the dead pilot, has been posthumously named a Hero of Russia, the country's highest military award.

His navigator, Capt. Konstantin Murakhtin, has been awarded the Order of Courage. Capt. Murakhtin was rescued last night and is said to be alive and well.

Alexander Pozynich, the marine killed during the rescue operation, has been posthumously award the Order of Courage.

Russian pilot rescued overnight by special forces

The second pilot from the Russian SU-24 jet shot down by a Turkish fighter is alive and has been rescued by Russian forces in an overnight special operation, the defence minister has said.

"The operation was successful. The pilot is already at our base. He is alive and well," said Sergei Shoigu, the Russian defence minister, in comments carried by the TASS news agency.

"I want to thank all our guys, who worked at great risk throughout the night," he said.

"I have informed the commander in chief [Vladimir Putin] about the success of the operation. He asked me to pass on his personal thanks to everyone involved in this mission."

Merkel: shooting down has complicated Syria situation

The shooting down of a Russian warplane by Turkey has complicated the process of finding a political solution in Syria and everything must be done to avoid a further escalation, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday.

"The situation has been aggravated by the shooting down of a Russian plane by Turkey," Merkel said in a speech in the lower house of parliament, in reference to the situation in Syria.

"We need to do everything to avoid an escalation," she added. "Of course every country has a right to defend its territory but on the other hand we know how tense the situation is in Syria and in the surrounding area. I spoke yesterday with the Turkish prime minister and asked him to do everything to de-escalate the situation."

How  press covered plane: Hurriyet: Biggest crisis. Aksam: Our patience was tested. Cumhuriyet: On the verge of war.

Russia want a joint staff of France, US and Turkey vs. Isil

Russia would be prepared to "create a joint staff" to fight the Islamic State (Isil) in which Moscow would work with France, the United States and even Turkey, the Russian ambassador to France said Wednesday.

"We are prepared to... plan strikes on Daesh (Isil) positions together and create a joint staff with France, the US, with all the countries who want to be in this coalition," said Alexander Orlov," adding: "If the Turks want to be in at as well, they are welcome" despite tensions after Turkey downed a Russian military jet.07:57

One of pilots is alive, taken to Russian base

One of the two Russian pilots who ejected from a jet shot down by Turkey on Tuesday has been picked up by the Syrian army and is being taken to Russia's base there, Russia's ambassador to France said on Wednesday.

"One on board was wounded when he parachuted down and killed in a savage way on the ground by the jihadists in the area and the other managed to escape and, according to the latest information, has been picked up by the Syrian army and should be going back to the Russian airforce base," ambassador Alexandre Orlov told Europe 1 radio. The other pilot was killed.

US official: Russian jet was not in Turkish airspace when it was hit

The United States believes that the Russian jet shot down by Turkey on Tuesday was hit inside Syrian airspace after a brief incursion into Turkish airspace, a US official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The official said that assessment was based on detection of the heat signature of the jet.

Turkey's military said the fighter was shot down by two of its F-16s after it violated Turkish airspace. A number of accounts suggest the SU-24 was in Turkish territory for 17 seconds before it was attacked, crashing once it had crossed back into Syria.

There has been something of a hardening of opinion against Turkey in the past couple of hours as it emerged just how rapidly the whole episode played out (if reports of Russian jet being inside Turkish airspace for just 17 seconds are true).

'Russia had it coming'

Con Coughlin argues that Russia only has itself to blame having ignored countless warnings about its increasingly belligerent stance. Vladimir Putin seemed to convince himself that Nato simply wasn't serious about confronting his forces.

Opinion: The Russian president recently made this view known when close aides warned him of Britain’s views on Russia. They told him that, when Britain outlined its National Security Strategy as part of the 2015 defence review, it would argue that, after Islamic State (Isil), Russia posed the greatest threat to global peace. But rather than being alarmed that his country was being cast in the same mould as the barbaric followers of Isil, Mr Putin simply shrugged. “Don’t worry,” he reassured his aides. “The British aren’t serious.”

There are dark corners of the Internet where Russian nationalists will argue the toss with Americans about whether the Su-24 is better than an F-16. I guess that argument was resolved today.

Turkey's statement: Claims Russia violated airspace for just "17 seconds" with very slow 243 miles/hour jet.

So what now?

If these latest details from Reuters are correct, then it changes things quite a bit. However, there's plenty we still don't know. What weapons systems were involved, for example? Were the planes visible to each other? The Russian jet spent a short period of time in Turkish airspace. So it is entirely possible that weapons were engaged before the jet crossed back into Syria, with no time for missiles to be destroyed, for example.

It will be a while before we have answers to these kinds of questions.

Heat signature suggests 'jet was hit inside Syria'

More breaking from Reuters. They are now saying that it was hit inside Syria - not just exploded:

The United States believes that the Russian jet shot down by Turkey on Tuesday was hit inside Syrian airspace after a brief incursion into Turkish airspace, a US official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The official said that assessment was based on detection of the heat signature of the jet.

US 'believes jet exploded in Syrian airspace'

Reuters is alerting that US believes that the Russian jet exploded in Syrian airspace, possibly contradicting that last point. More shortly.