Turkey threatens Putin with 'unwanted consequences' after Russian jet 'violates' airspace
THE Turkish foreign ministry has warned Russia could face "unwanted consequences" after one of its jets allegedly violated Turkish airspace.
Turkey has claimed a Russian jet has violated their airspace
Turkey's foreign ministry claims a Russian SU-34 jet violated Turkish airspace on Friday despite radar warnings, prompting Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan to demand a meeting with Vladimir Putin.
Russia has denied any violation of airspace, once more stoking tensions between the two countries.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said he wanted to meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to discuss the alleged incident.
He said: "I told our Foreign Ministry to convey my desire to meet Mr Putin personally. There has been no answer on this yet."
We are making a clear call to the Russian Federation not to violate Turkish airspace
Turkey's foreign ministry said in a statement that the violation was a clear sign that Russia wanted issues between the two countries to escalate.
The statement said: "We are making a clear call to the Russian Federation not to violate Turkish airspace, which is also NATO airspace."
"We are emphasising once again that the unwanted consequences of such irresponsible behaviour will belong fully to the Russian Federation."
Turkey says Russian fighter jet violated Turkish airspace
According to the ministry, a Russian SU-34 jet violated Turkish airspace on Friday
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has demanded a meeting with Vladimir Putin
Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Major-General Igor Konashenkov denied that any Russian plane had entered Turkish airspace, and called the Turkish allegation "pure propaganda".
He said Turkish radar installations were not capable of identifying a particular aircraft or its type or nationality, and that no verbal warning had been issued in either English or Russian.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the violation had taken place, and urged Russia to "take all necessary measures" to ensure NATO airspace was not violated again. "Previous incidents have shown how dangerous such behaviour is," his statement said.
Vladimir Putin has previously accused Turkey of having a close relationship with Syria
Tensions have been high between Russia and Turkey, since the Turkish airforce downed a Russian fighter jet over Syria last year. Russia responded with economic sanctions that have hit Turkish exports and tourism revenues.
After Su-24 was downed in November, Vladimir Putin said Moscow had grounds to suspect the plane was attacked by Turkish jets to secure illegal oil deliveries on an "industrial scale" from Syria to Turkey.
A Turkish F-16 fighter jet shot down the Su-24 warplane after claiming that it violated Turkish airspace for just 17 seconds, despite repeated warning in the minutes prior to the incursion.
However Moscow vehemently rejects the claims, saying that according to its military intelligence the SU-24 never left Syrian airspace.
Syrian Turkmen rebels killed one of the two pilots as he attempted to parachute down., while the second pilot was rescued.
Protesters stage an anti-Turkey protest outside the country's embassy in Moscow last November