Turkey to ease tension with ‘friend’ Russia

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sought to play down tensions with Russia Wednesday after Turkey’s downing of a Russian warplane on the Syria border sparked fears among Nato allies of a wider conflict.

Russian President Vladimir Putin reacted furiously to what he described as a “stab in the back committed by accomplices of terrorists”, recommending that Russians do not visit Turkey, a key tourist destination.

Turkey said the Russian Su-24 warplane had violated its airspace 10 times within a five-minute period, but Russia insisted it had never strayed from Syrian territory.

The shooting also risks derailing efforts to bring peace to Syria that were gaining tentative momentum following the November 13 Paris attacks claimed by Islamic State (ISIS) militants who control swathes of northern Syria.

Mr Erdogan vowed to always defend Turkish borders but appeared to want to avoid provoking further one of the biggest crises between Russia and a Nato member in recent years.

“We have no intention to escalate this incident. We are just defending our security and the rights of our brothers,” Mr Erdogan said in a televised speech in Istanbul.

US President Barack Obama said Washington’s Nato ally Turkey had a right to defend its airspace but said his priority was to make sure the standoff did not escalate.

“Hopefully, this is a moment in which all parties can step back and make a determination as to how their interests are best served,” Mr Obama said.

Mr Erdogan and Mr Obama agreed on the need to reduce tensions and prevent a repeat of similar incidents in a phone call late Tuesday, the Turkish presidency said.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu also said his government did not want to fuel tensions with “our friend” Russia.

“We have no intention to strain (ties) with the Russian Federation,” Mr Davutoglu told ruling party members in Parliament. “Russia is our friend and our neighbour.”

Mr Davutoglu said the plane that violated Turkish airspace was downed as it was seen as a “threat”. But he called for a deescalation in relations with its major trade partner Russia.

“We have very strong economic, commercial and cultural bonds with Russia,” he said, adding that communication channels with Moscow were wide open.

But he warned that it was Turkey’s “natural right” to protect its borders and national security.

“Turkey does not have an eye on any country’s soil,” he said. “Targeting Russia or any other country is out of the question.”

Following an extraordinary meeting of the alliance called by Ankara, Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg said “diplomacy and de-escalation are important to resolve this situation,” he said.

The Turkish ambassador to the United Nations Halit Cevik said in a letter to the Security Council that two planes were involved, one of which was shot down while the other left Turkish airspace.

He said both planes had flown 2.19 km into Turkish airspace for 17 seconds from 0724 GMT Tuesday.

Ankara and Moscow are already on starkly opposing sides in the over four-year Syrian civil war, with Turkey wanting to see the ousting of President Bashar al-Assad but Russia one of his last remaining allies.

Mr Assad’s other key ally Iran also slammed Ankara’s behaviour. Turkey’s behaviour “sends the wrong message to the terrorists” in Syria, Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.

In an apparent response to Turkey’s move, Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu said Moscow would be sending its most hi-tech S-400 air defence system to its airbase in Syria.

There had been fears of such a mid-air incident since Russia launched airstrikes in Syria in September, to the consternation of nations already involved in a US-led anti-ISIS coalition.

Turkey had bitterly condemned Russia’s campaign, saying it was aimed at hitting Syrian rebels and buttressing the Assad regime rather than hurting IS jihadists.