Turkey summons Russian envoy over shot down warplane
Charge d'affaires Sergei Panov called to meeting at Foreign Ministry
ANKARA
Turkey summoned Russia’s charge d’affaires to the Foreign Ministry on Tuesday over the downing of a Russian warplane that violated Turkish airspace.
Sergei Panov, Moscow’s envoy in Ankara, was called to a meeting with Ahmet Muhtar Gun, acting undersecretary, according to the ministry.
Russian Ambassador Andrey Karlov is currently in Istanbul preparing for the upcoming visit of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
The Russian warplane was shot down by Turkish F-16s after being repeatedly warned about violating Turkish airspace over Yayladagi, Hatay province, earlier Tuesday.
The plane was brought down in northwest Syria near the Turkmen town of Bayirbucak.
Media footage showed two parachutes floating to the ground before the aircraft crashed in a plume of smoke.
Russian warplanes previously violated Turkish airspace twice in October. The incidents came within a few days of the start of Russia’s air campaign in Syria on Sept. 30 and led to international condemnation.
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