Russian, Syrian special forces rescue pilot

Russian warship named “Yamal” and numbered “156” is passing through the Dardanelles Strait en route to the Mediterranean Sea, near Canakkale, Turkey, Tuesday, November 24, 2015.

In a statement, the Syrian armed forces said Syrian and Russian forces had penetrated into territory controlled by the “terrorists” – the regime’s description of all armed opposition – to rescue the pilot.

“Second, Turkey’s actions in fact demonstrated the protection of the militants of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group”, Medvedev said.

The Russian foreign ministry has already warned Russians against travelling to Turkey, and some leading Russian tourist agencies suspended the sales of tour packages to Turkey.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday Russia did not intend to wage a war against Turkey after its air force shot down a Russian jet near the Turkish border with Syria.

A USA official said US forces were not involved in the downing of the Russian jet, which was the first time a Russian or Soviet military aircraft has been publicly acknowledged to have been shot down by a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation member since the 1950s.

Russia’s ambassador to France also said that the second pilot is in the hands of the Syrian army.

Vladimir Putin has ordered state-of-the-art air defence missile systems to be deployed at a Russian air base in Syria following the downing of a Russian warplane by Turkey.

Turkey imports nearly all of its energy from Russian Federation, including 60 per cent of its gas and 35 per cent of its oil.

Speaking at a business event in Istanbul, Mr Erdogan said the Russian jet had been fired at while in Turkish airspace but had crashed inside Syria, although he said parts of it landed in Turkey and injured two Turkish citizens.

Mr Lavrov warned Russians against visiting Turkey, telling them it was no safer than Egypt, where a Russian airliner was recently brought down by a bomb.

In a sign of the tensions, protesters in Moscow hurled eggs and stones at the Turkish Embassy, breaking windows in the compound.

Erdogan on Tuesday defended Turkey’s right to protect its borders after the plane was shot down, an incident he said Turkey had made every effort to avoid.

There was widespread anger in Moscow on Tuesday night.

Davutoglu also said Russian Federation is an “important partner and tops the list of countries with which we have shown great sensitivity in building ties”.