Putin sends air-defence missiles to Syria

Military officials recalled that Turkish side conveyed rules of engagement earlier and told that rules of engagement apply if any aircraft, whose nationality is unknown, approaches Turkish airspace.

In a statement released on Thursday, the ministry said Turkey is concerned to see that its diplomatic missions and Turkish companies in Russian Federation are being exposed to physical attacks “under the auspices of protests”. But the downing of the Russian jet on Tuesday changed this and “now the safety of Russian fleet’s planes… will be ensured by more secure means”, he said. A number of accounts suggest the SU-24 was in Turkish territory for 17 seconds before it was attacked, crashing once it had crossed back into Syria.

“There should be an agreement between the United States and Russian Federation to confront the subject of Daesh, terrorists are enemies of humanity”, said Rajoy.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday that his country does not wish to escalate tensions with Russian Federation over the downing of the plane.

Reports also say 18 fighter jets were sent on a patrol exercise near the border.

Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu, however, said the military will install long-range missiles at its Hmeymim air base on Syrian’s Mediterranean coast, less than 45 kilometers from the Turkish border.

In Georgia, customs officials reported that trucks with Turkish number plates driving via Georgia to Russian Federation can not get through.

Putin has also accused Turkey of buying oil from the Islamic State jihadist group, whose financing heavily relies on the sale of energy resources.

Economy minister Alexei Ulyukayev said Moscow could put limits on flights to and from Turkey, halt preparations for a joint free trade zone, and restrict high-profile projects including the TurkStream gas pipeline and a $20 billion nuclear power plant Russian Federation is building in Turkey.

Another Russian soldier was killed on Tuesday when his Mi-8 helicopter was “damaged by gunfire and had to land” during an operation to retrieve Su-24’s two pilots, the defence ministry said.