Russian warship fires warning shots at Turkish ship ‘to avoid collision’

Russia is once again warning Turkey against “provocations” tonight after an incident in the Aegean Sea, just off the coast of Lemnos, Greece, in which an anchored Russian destroyer opened fire on a Turkish fishing boat that came too close.

“In connection with the incident in the Aegean Sea, Russian Deputy Defence Minister Anatoly Antonov invited the military attaché at the Turkish embassy in Russia to the Russian Defence Ministry”, also added in the explanation. When the boat was 600 meters (660 yards) away, the destroyer fired and the Turkish vessel quickly changed course, passing within 540 meters.

Relations between the two countries remain tense, with Turkey maintaining the downed warplane crossed into its airspace.

A Turkish Air Force F-16 fighter jet shot down the Russian Sukhoi Su-24M bomber aircraft near the Syria-Turkey border.

According to a statement from the Russian defence ministry the Turkish vessel approached to 600m (1,800ft) before turning away in response to Russian small arms fire.

Turkish officials had no immediate comment on the incident.

“Despite repeated attempts of the crew of the Smetlivy, the Turkish fishing boat did not establish radio contact with the Russian sailors and did not respond to specific semaphore signals and signal flares”, the statement said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has denounced the Turkish action as a “treacherous stab in the back”, and insisted that the plane was downed over Syrian territory in violation of global law.

Russian military vessels are involved in Russia’s intervention against rebels in Syria. We want to overcome tensions through dialogue, ‘ Mr Cavusoglu said.