Russia invites Turkey to discuss prevention of misunderstanding in Syria - Defence Ministry

MOSCOW, October 6. /TASS/. Russia invites representatives of the Turkish Defence Ministry to Moscow in order to discuss the prevention of misunderstandings in Syria, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Anatoly Antonov said on Tuesday. "The ministry’s General Staff is ready to create various working groups with any interested state on this problem. Turkey should be mentioned the first in this connection. We would be happy to welcome representatives of the Turkish Defence Ministry in Moscow," Antonov said after a meeting with military attaches of a number of countries, including the United States and Turkey. He said that the meeting would provide an opportunity to discuss all the technical issues for avoiding possible misunderstandings as a result of actions of the Russian Aerospace Forces in Syria. The Turkish Foreign Ministry reported previously that Russia’s fighter jet violated the country’s airspace. The Russian Defence Ministry blamed the incident on the bad weather, saying that the command of the Russian aviation group in Syria took "the necessary measures to prevent such incidents" in the future. In addition, the Defence Ministry sent corresponding explanations to the Turkish side. Also, the Russian ambassador in Ankara was once again summoned to the Turkish Foreign Ministry. However, the Russian Defence Ministry said that that the incident, which allegedly took place on October 4, had no relation to the Russian aviation group stationed in Syria. The NATO Council where Turkey has membership urged Russia to take all the necessary measures to prevent repetition of the violation of the alliance’s airspace in the future. "Allies expressed their deep concern with regard to the Russian military build-up in Syria and especially the attacks by the Russian Air Force on Hama, Homs, and Idlib which led to civilian casualties and did not target Da’esh. Allies call on the Russian Federation to immediately cease its attacks on the Syrian opposition and civilians, to focus its efforts on fighting ISIL, and to promote a solution to the conflict through a political transition," the NATO Council said in a release, in particular. "Russian military actions have reached a more dangerous level with the recent violations of Turkish airspace on 3 October and 4 October by Russian Air Force SU-30 and SU-24 aircraft in the Hatay region. The aircraft in question entered Turkish airspace despite Turkish authorities’ clear, timely and repeated warnings. In accordance with NATO practice, Turkish fighter aircraft responded to these incursions by closing to identify the intruder, after which the Russian planes departed Turkish airspace," the statement says. "Allies call on the Russian side to take all necessary measures to ensure that such violations do not take place in the future. The security of the Alliance is indivisible, and Allies stand in strong solidarity with Turkey. We will continue to follow the developments on the South-Eastern borders of NATO very closely," says the release. Read more