Turkey fumes over Russian ‘rocket launcher’ picture

Turkey on Monday summoned Russia’s ambassador to Ankara over images of a Russian serviceman brandishing a rocket launcher as his warship navigated through Turkish waters, foreign ministry sources said.

Turkey has summoned the Russian ambassador after a serviceman on a Russian naval ship allegedly brandished a rocket launcher while the vessel passed through Istanbul at the weekend.

The alleged incident came with Ankara and Moscow at loggerheads after Turkey downed a Russian jet on its border with Syria last month, sparking fury and economic sanctions from the Kremlin.

The country is also very dependent on Russian energy supplies, which so far have not been affected by the conflict, the deputy prime minister said.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu called on Russia Monday to end such “provocative acts”, saying Turkey obeys the Montreux Convention and has not blocked any Russian ships from passing through the Bosphorus. “If we perceive a threatening situation, we will give the necessary response”, he told reporters in the Turkish city of Antalya, according to Turkish daily Hurriyet.

The Bosphorus offers the only passage to the world’s oceans for the Russian Black Sea fleet. Turkey said the plane was shot down because it violated Turkish airspace, while Russian Federation denied a violation had occurred and vowed serious consequences as a result.

NTV said three North Atlantic Treaty Organisation frigates with Canadian, Spanish and Portuguese flags had been moored in Istanbul as the Caesar Kunikov passed through.