Turkish fighter jets shot down a Russian warplane near the Syrian border on Tuesday after repeated warnings over air space violations.
However, Moscow said it could prove the jet had not left Syrian air space.
It was the first time a Nato member’s armed forces have downed a Russian or Soviet military aircraft since the 1950s and Russian and Turkish assets fell on fears of an escalation between the former Cold War enemies.
Russian president Vladimir Putin said the plane had been attacked when it was 1km inside Syria and warned of “serious consequences” for what he termed a “stab in the back”
Footage from Turkey’s Anadolu Agency showed two pilots parachuting out of the jet before it crashed. Russia’s defence ministry said one of its Su-24 fighter jets had been downed in Syria and that, according to preliminary information, the pilots were able to eject. It said the aircraft had been over Syria for the duration of its flight.
A video sent to news agencies by a Syrian rebel group on Tuesday appeared to show a Russian pilot immobile and badly wounded on the ground, and an official from the group said he was dead. “A Russian pilot,” a voice is heard saying as a group of men gather around him. “God is great,” a voice is heard saying.
The video was sent to Reuters by a rebel group operating in the northwestern area of Syria, where groups including Free Syrian Army are operating but Islamic State has no known presence.
Jahed Ahmad, of the 10th Brigade in the Coast, said the plane’s two Russian crew members tried to land in their parachutes in Syrian government-held areas after they ejected, but came under fire from members of his group.
He added that rebels shot one of the pilots, who landed dead on the ground. The fate of the second pilot was not immediately known.
The group released a video showing gunmen standing around a blond pilot who had bruises on his face and appeared dead.
Footage from private Turkish broadcaster Haberturk TV showed the warplane going down in flames in a woodland area, a long plume of smoke trailing behind it.
Ten warnings
The Turkish military said the aircraft had been warned 10 times in the space of five minutes about violating Turkish airspace. Officials said a second plane had also approached the border and been warned.
“The data we have is very clear. There were two planes approaching our border, we warned them as they were getting too close,” a senior Turkish official said.
“We warned them to avoid entering Turkish airspace before they did, and we warned them many times. Our findings show clearly that Turkish airspace was violated multiple times. And they violated it knowingly,” the official said.
Russia’s unilateral decision to launch air strikes in Syria mean Russian and Nato planes have been flying combat missions in the same air space for the first time since the second World War, targeting various insurgent groups close to Turkish borders.
Russia’s main stock index fell more than two per cent, while Turkish stocks fell 1.3 per cent. Both the rouble and lira were weaker.
Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan was briefed by the head of the military, while Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu ordered consultations with Nato, the United Nations and related countries, their respective offices said.
The North Atlantic Council (NAC) of Nato will meet in Brussels this afternoon. “The aim of this extraordinary NAC meeting is for Turkey to inform allies about the downing of a Russian airplane,” Nato spokeswoman Carmen Romero said. “Nato is monitoring the situation closely. We are in close contact with Turkish authorities.”
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said the warplane crashed in a mountainous area in the northern countryside of Latakia province, where there had been aerial bombardment earlier and where pro-government forces have been battling insurgents on the ground. Islamic State, which has beheaded foreign captives in the past, is not known to have a presence there.
Search for pilots
One of the pilots was in the hands of Turkmen forces in Syria who were looking for the other one, broadcaster CNN Turk reported, citing local sources. Russian military helicopters were also searching for the pilots, Turkey’s Dogan news agency reported.
Both Russia and its ally, Syria’s government, have carried out strikes in the area. A Syrian military source said the reported downing was being investigated.
Turkey called this week for a UN Security Council meeting to discuss attacks on Turkmens in neighbouring Syria, and last week Ankara summoned the Russian ambassador, saying the Russian actions did not “constitute a fight against terrorism” but the bombing of civilians . Ankara has traditionally expressed solidarity with Syrian Turkmens, who are Syrians of Turkish descent.
Ambassador Andrey Karlov was warned during the meeting that the Russian operations could lead to serious consequences, the ministry said.
Syrian troops have been on the offensive in the area that is controlled by several insurgent groups including al-Qaida’s branch in Syria, the Nusra Front, and the 2nd Coastal Division that consists of local Turkmen fighters. Rami Abdurrahman, who heads the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said the war plane crashed in the Turkmen Mountains region in the coastal province of Latakia.
The Turkmen Mountains region has been subjected to a government offensive in recent days under the cover of Russian airstrikes.
Three Russian journalists working in Latakia province suffered minor injuries when a missile landed near their car on Monday, Russia’s defence ministry said. They were being treated in a military hospital.
Last month, Turkish jets shot down an unidentified drone that it said had violated Turkey’s airspace.
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov is due to visit Turkey on Wednesday to discuss Syria, in a trip arranged before this incident.
Mr Erdogan is meanwhile expected to visit Russia for talks with Russian president Vladimir Putin in late December.
About 1,700 people have fled the mountainous Syrian area near to the Turkish border as a result of fighting in the last three days, a Turkish official said on Monday. Russian jets have bombed the area in support of ground operations by Syrian government forces.
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