Air Force protected Turkish airspace by downing Russian Su-24

Turkish Prime Minister accused Thursday an opposition leader of betrayal after his comments that Turkey made a “mistake” downing the Russian aircraft.

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu accused the head of Turkey’s pro-Kurdish opposition party of treason on Friday for using a trip to Moscow to condemn Ankara’s shooting down of a Russian warplane over Syria.

During his meeting with Lavrov, Demirtaş criticized the decision to shoot down the plane but added that the crisis should not be allowed to hurt the Turkish and Russian peoples.

Russia, which imposed economic sanctions on Turkey after the November 24 incident, and has sharply criticized President Tayyip Erdogan and would be keenly aware of the sensitivity of Ankara to any contacts between Moscow and Kurdish politicians.

In a move likely to further infuriate Ankara, Lavrov said Russian Federation supports Demirtas’ Democratic People’s Party platform which “ensures unity of the (Turkish) nation” by supporting the rights of ethnic groups in the country.

Over 200 Turkish security personnel have been killed in the conflict in Turkey’s Southeast since the PKK assassinated 2 police officers in what it said was retaliation for failure of the state to prevent a suspected ISIL militant from detonating a suicide bomb in Şanlıurfa’s Suruç district and killing 34, injuring over 100.

Media reports quoted Demirtas before the visit as saying he wanted to open a representative office for his party in Moscow.

Demirtas said he realises his visit to Moscow comes at a critical time when relations between Turkey and Russian Federation are at a “critical stage”.

Lavrov also said that Moscow is ready to work with Kurds fighting against Islamic State terrorists in Syria.

“We know that there armed Syrian, Iraqi Kurdish groups fighting on the ground against the threat of ISIL and other extremists”.