Turkey wants Russia military contact channels ‘re-opened’
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has called for the opening of military communication channels between Ankara and Moscow aimed at preventing incidents such as Turkey’s recent downing of a Russian jet.
Turkey shot down a Russian fighter jet on November 24. Tensions have escalated since the incident, which also saw the killing of Russian pilot at the hand of the militants in Syria as he parachuted down. Turkey claims the plane violated its airspace; Russia denies the allegation; and the jet crashed well within Syrian territory.
Among other retaliatory measures, Russia suspended all military communications with Turkey.
“Our call to Russia again is to open military communication channels to prevent similar incidents happening. Let’s keep diplomatic channels open,” Davutoglu said on Tuesday.
He also called for dialogue between the two nations, “instead of making unfounded allegations.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused Turkey of downing its Su-24 fighter jet along the Turkish-Syrian border in order to protect oil supplies from Daesh militants to Turkish territory. Putin made the accusation on the sidelines of a United Nations climate summit in the French capital, Paris, where Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also said he was willing to resign if the allegations were proven. The two leaders did not meet during the summit.
The Russian president has recently signed a decree imposing economic sanctions against Turkey over the downing of its jet. Turkey has refused to apologize for the incident.
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