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Missing Russian jet pilot 'picked up by Syrian army'
- 11 minutes ago
- Middle East
A Russian pilot who went missing after his jet was shot down by Turkey over Syria was rescued by the Syrian army, Russia's ambassador to France said.
Alexander Orlov told Europe 1 radio the pilot had been taken to a Russian base. However, this report has not yet been confirmed by the authorities in Moscow.
The second pilot, and a marine involved in their rescue operation, were killed, Russia's defence ministry says.
Nato's chief said it stood by member Turkey butechoed calls for calm.
Nato's Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said he backed the Turks' assessment, but added "diplomacy and de-escalation are important to resolve this situation".
Turkey said the jet had strayed into its airspace but Russian President Vladimir Putin insisted the Su-24 had been hit by an air-to-air missile while flying over Syrian territory.
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President Putin described the downing of the plane as a "stab in the back".
Breaking off military contacts with Turkey, Russia's defence ministry said a cruiser equipped with an air defence system would be deployed in the Mediterranean to destroy "any targets representing a potential danger" for Russian forces in Syria.
Russian bombers carrying out air strikes over Syria will now be escorted by fighters, the military said.
Analysis: Mark Lowen, BBC Turkey correspondent
After Turkey became the first Nato member to shoot down a Russian plane in over half a century, the question now is how will Moscow respond?
President Putin called Turkey an "accomplice of terrorists" and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov cancelled a planned trip to Ankara on Wednesday.
But the UN and Nato have urged both sides to de-escalate the crisis. According to Ankara, the Russian Su-24 was warned ten times about entering Turkish airspace, though Moscow says there was no such communication.
But Turkey also said the violation lasted just seventeen seconds. And given signs that a united front was beginning to form against Islamic State, there will be diplomatic pressure on both sides to focus instead on the common threat from the militants.
The tough talk from Ankara and Moscow will no doubt continue - but whether there will be serious retaliation is less clear.
Russian defence official Lt-Gen Sergey Rudskoy said the two pilots were shot at from the ground as they parachuted from their burning plane - one of them was killed.
There have been various reports about the fate of the second airman.
Lt-Gen Rudskoy also said a rescue team using two Mi-8 helicopters had attempted to rescue the two pilots.
"During the operation, one of the helicopters came under small-arms fire, was damaged and made an emergency landing on neutral territory," he said.
"One naval infantryman serving under contract was killed."
He said the rest of the rescue team were safely evacuated from the area to Russia's Humaymim air base near Latakia in Syria.
Syrian rebels say they blew up the helicopter shortly after it landed with an anti-tank missile, releasing footage of the attack.
Reuters
Russians have been advised not to visit Turkey - a popular tourist destination - with Foreign Minister Lavrov saying the terror threat there was no less than in Egypt, where a bomb attack brought down a Russian passenger plane last month.
One of Russia's largest tour operators, Natali Tours, has suspended package holidays to Turkey.
There are loud calls in Russia for economic sanctions and for all flights to Turkey to be cancelled, the BBC's Moscow correspondent, Sarah Rainsford, reports.
The Turkish president said his forces had been acting within their rules of engagement.
"Everyone must respect the right of Turkey to protect its borders," he said.
The US, the EU and the UN have all appealed for calm.
US President Barack Obama has assured his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in a phone call of US support for his country's right to defend its sovereignty.
He said it was important to find out exactly what had happened and to take measures to "discourage any kind of escalation".
But he said the incident pointed to an "ongoing problem" with Russian action in Syria, saying if Russia had been targeting IS, rather than "moderate" Syrian opposition forces, such incidents would be unlikely.
Russia and Turkey have found themselves on opposing sides in Syria's conflict, with Russia supporting its ally President Bashar al-Assad and Turkey calling for his ousting.
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