Turkey slams Russian missile launcher ‘provocation’
Turkey on Monday warned the Russian ambassador that there should be no repeat of an incident last week, when a Russian sailor allegedly brandished a rocket launcher on the deck of a naval ship passing through Istanbul, foreign ministry sources said. The diplomatic fallout has seen Russian President Vladimir Putin’s government place a number of economic sanctions on Turkey.
According to information, the reason for summoning of the ambassador was the Caesar Kunikov Russian military vessel in the straits, where Russian soldier stood on the deck with the Strela-2 man-portable infrared homing surface-to-air missile. It said the ship was believed to be en route to Syria.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has called on Russian Federation to end “provocative acts” and said that Turkey had already taken the necessary steps in response to the incident, without giving further details.
For Russia it is the only passage its Black Sea fleet can use to access the Mediterranean and the rest of the world’s oceans.
Under a treaty dating from 1923, Turkey must let all ships pass through the strait, which runs through Istanbul, during peacetime.
The Turkish strongman said Russian Federation had made “no sign” that the crisis would affect their energy partnership, but he implied that Ankara was seeking new suppliers. Turkey said the plane was shot down because it violated Turkish airspace, while Russian Federation denied a violation had occurred and vowed serious consequences as a result.