Turkish F-16 jets follow a Russian military aircraft

Turkish F-16 fighter jets were scrambled to the scene as Russian military aircraft approached Turkish airspace along the Black Sea.

Turkish F-16 jets follow a Russian military aircraft
World Bulletin / News Desk

Turkish F-16 jets followed a Russian military aircraft flying near Turkish airspace in the Black Sea. 

Turkish General Staff stated on Sunday that a Russian IL-20 aircraft coming over Georgia approached Turkey's coasts in the Black Sea international air space. Russian aircraft flew approximately 15 miles off Turkey's coasts, and two Turkish F-16 jets followed the aircraft. This is the fourth such incident in two weeks, but was not a hostile move by Russia, says Turkish Foreign Ministry.

A senior official from the Turkish Foreign Ministry said that Turkey’s following the Russian jets was “a self-driven measure taken upon approaching Turkish airspace during an operation in conformance with the international law.”

Russia’s military operations do not point to any tension between the two neighbors said Davutoglu earlier when questioned on the subject.

“This is not an inconvenient event for Turkey. We do not see such flights as hostile,” said the official. “Within our military engagement rules, we take precautionary measures in case of a parallel flight to our airspace.”

First such Russian flight close to Turkish airspace was on October 23, as announced in the website of Turkish General Staff.

Güncelleme Tarihi: 04 Kasım 2013, 16:07
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