Russia Says Downing of Jet Won’t Deflect Its Syrian Mission

Russia sent an advanced missile system to Syria yesterday to protect its jets operating there, pledging its air force would not be deterred but keep flying as part of its missions near Turkish/ Syrian air space, thus sounding a defiant note after Turkey shot down a Russian fighter jet.

The downing of the jet on Tuesday was one of the most serious publicly acknowledged clashes between a NATO member and Russia for half a century, and further complicated international efforts to battle Islamic State militants in Syria.

Russian officials expressed fury over Turkey’s actions, and spoke of retaliatory measures that were likely to include curbing travel by Russian tourists to Turkish resorts and some restrictions on trade.

But the Russian response was also carefully calibrated.There was no sign Russia wanted a military escalation, or to jeopardise its main objective in the region to rally international support for its view on how the conflict in Syria should be resolved.

Turkish Foreign Minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, spoke by phone with Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov yesterday.

Turkey’s foreign ministry said they would meet soon but Russia’s Interfax news agency said Lavrov had not agreed to meet.

“We have no intention of fighting a war with Turkey,” Lavrov said. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan also said Ankara had no intention of escalating tensions with Russia.

Speaking on a trip to the Ural mountains city of Nizhny Tagil, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the despatch of an advanced weapons system to Russia’s Khmeimim air base in Syria’s Latakia province.

“I hope that this, along with other measures that we are taking, will be enough to ensure (the safety) of our flights,”Putin told reporters.

The despatch of the weapons, which officials later said would be the S-400 missile system, is likely to be viewed as a stark warning to Turkey not to try to shoot down any more Russian planes.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia was forced to fly missions close to the Turkish border because that was where the militants tended to be located. “(Russia’s) operations will continue without doubt,”he said.

Russian forces launched a heavy bombardment against insurgent-held areas in Syria’s Latakia province on Wednesday, near where the warplane was shot down, rebels and a monitoring group said.

The Russian Su-24 jet downed on Tuesday was hit by missile fire from Turkish aircraft as it flew a mission over Syria near the Turkish border, where the Russian air force has been bombing rebel targets.

Turkey said the plane had encroached on Turkish air space and was warned repeatedly to change course, but Russian officials said the plane was at no time over Turkey.

The crew ejected, and one pilot was shot dead by rebels as he parachuted to the ground. A Russian marine sent to recover the crew was also killed in an attack by rebels. Syrian state media reported the jet’s second pilot had been rescued.

Russia’s foreign ministry issued a protest over the incident to the Turkish ambassador in Moscow, according to a Russian foreign ministry source.

Surviving crew member of Russian jet says no warning from Turkey: agencies

Russia will not wage war on Turkey after it downed Russian jet: foreign minister

Turkey, Russia foreign ministers may meet next week in Belgrade.

Speaking at a business event in Istanbul, Erdogan said Turkey had made a“huge effort”to prevent an incident like the downing of the Russian aircraft, but that the limits of its patience had been tested.

“We have no intention of escalating this incident. We are only defending our own security and the rights of our brothers,” Erdogan said.

Turkey has been angered by Russian air strikes in Syria, particularly those near its border targeting Turkmens, who are Syrians of Turkish descent.

It had repeatedly warned Russia over air space violations and last week summoned the Russian ambassador to protest against the bombing of Turkmen villages.

Erdogan questioned how those Russian strikes squared with Moscow’s assertion it is in Syria to combat Islamic State.

“It has been said that they were there to fight Daesh,” he said, using an Arabic acronym for Islamic State.

“First of all, the Daesh terrorist organization does not have a presence in this region of Latakia and the north where Turkmens are based. Let’s not fool ourselves.”

Russia and Turkey have important trade ties, and these could be affected in the fallout from the plane incident.

Russian Prime Minister, Dmitry Medvedev, called the downing of the aircraft a“senseless criminal act.”

“The direct consequences could lead to our refusal to take part in a whole raft of important joint projects and Turkish companies losing their positions on the Russian market,”Medvedev said in a statement.

Russia is a major exporter of grain and energy to Turkey, and it sends over four million tourists each year to Turkish resorts, second only to the number of German tourists.

The Russian government has already said it will discourage Russian tourists from traveling to Turkey, though the immediate impact will be limited because Turkey is now in the off-season.

Russia imports large volumes of Turkish food products and textiles, and Turkish firms are active in the construction and drinks sectors.

Shares in Enka Insaat, which has construction projects in Russia and two power plants in Turkey using Russian gas, fell for a second day on Wednesday.