Russian Pilot Safe After Jet Shot Down on Syria-Turkey Border

Rebels on the ground said they shot dead one of the pilots as he parachuted down. The message to Russian Federation was clear.

Protesters have hurled eggs and stones at the Turkish embassy in Moscow a day after Turkey shot down a Russian warplane Tuesday near the Syrian border.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov scrapped a planned visit to Turkey on Wednesday, and warned Russians against travelling to Turkey.

He said that there is “available information” about “direct financial interest” of some Turkish officials having connection with enterprises held by the IS.

It said the pilot is alive and arrived Wednesday morning at the Hemeimeem air base, near the city of Latakia.

Russian military helicopters searched for the pilot and navigator near the crash site in the predominantly Turkmen Bayir Bucak area, Turkey’s Dogan news agency reported.

Two Turkish F-16s on patrol along the Syrian border engaged two Russian SU-24s before shooting one down after the warnings.

The pilot was delivered to the Russian airbase in Syria, Shoigu added. In a televised address to business leaders Wednesday, Erdogan said Turkey was defending its own security “and the rights of our brothers” in Syria.

The spokesman also dismissed the comparisons between Turkish fighters’ action and US fighters escorting Russian bombers out of the American airspace when they approach the coasts of the U.S.

Russian Federation has always been at odds with North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, which it accuses of encroaching on Russia’s borders, as well as with Turkey’s determination to oust Syrian president Bashar Assad, a long-time Moscow ally.

Some Russian lawmakers suggested that Moscow should respond to the downing of the plane by cracking down on Turkish companies in Russia, but Lavrov said that “we don’t want to artificially create problems for Turkish producers and exporters, who aren’t responsible for what has happened”.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said part of the damaged plane landed inside Turkey, injuring two civilians on the ground. “NATO has issued a stern ultimatum”, Erdogan said. President Obama defended Turkey’s right to defend its air space.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Wednesday “dangerous escalation” in relations between Russia and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation can not be excused, even in the case of border protection.

He accused North Atlantic Treaty Organisation member Turkey of being an “accomplice” of Islamic State extremists and playing an ambiguous role in Syria’s civil war.