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Turkey to target any violator of airspace, says Premier Davutoglu

Iran Press TV

Sat Oct 17, 2015 5:20PM

Turkey's Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu says Ankara will shoot down any military aircraft that violates the Turkish airspace.

The Turkish premier made the comments on Saturday in an address to a rally of his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in the central city of Kayseri, a day after the Turkish military said it had shot down an unidentified aircraft in its airspace after warning it three times.

"We downed a drone yesterday. If it was a plane, we'd do the same. Our rules of engagement are known. Whoever violates our borders, we will give them the necessary answer," Davutoglu stated.

The Turkish army said in a Friday statement that the aircraft was downed by Turkish fighter jets near the Syrian border.

The Turkish military did not elaborate on the type of the downed aircraft, but media reports cited an unnamed Turkish official as saying that it was a drone.

Turkish authorities have launched an investigation to find out where the aircraft came from.

Russia' Ria Novosti news agency has cited the Russian Defense Ministry as saying that all Russian military aircraft in Syria have safely returned to their bases, and that all drones are operating as planned.

The Russian Defense Ministry said it is in direct contact with the Turkish military to avoid incidents with flights near the border, Interfax news agency reported.

Earlier in October, Ankara said Russian jets had violated its airspace twice. After the first incident, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov said the aircraft had accidentally entered the Turkish airspace.

The Russian embassy in Ankara has said Moscow is looking into the allegation of the second airspace violation.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan later said Russia runs the risk of losing its friendly ties with Ankara, adding, "If Russia loses a friend like Turkey with whom it has a lot of cooperation, it is going to lose a lot of things. It needs to know this." Moscow also said it wanted to retain good ties with Ankara.

Russia started its airstrikes against positions of the Daesh Takfiri terrorists in Syria on September 30, upon a request from the Syrian government.

The Russian combat sorties are conducted from the Hmeimim air base in Syria's northwestern province of Latakia.