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[h=4]Russian FM: Downing of warplane a 'planned provocation'[/h]Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday that his country does not want to escalate tensions with Russia after Turkish fighter jets shot down a Russian warplane accused of entering its airspace.
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Syrian and Russian officials said a Russian military pilot whose plane was shot down by Turkey and crashed in Syria arrived on Wednesday at an air base in Latakia province after being rescued by a Syrian army commando unit. USA TODAY
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov speaks to journalists at the Bocharov Ruchei residence in the Black sea resort of Sochi, Russia, 24 November 2015.(Photo: EPA)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Wednesday that the downing of a Russian warplane by Turkey<span style="color: Red;">*</span>appeared to be planned as the nation announced one of the two pilots on board had been rescued.
"We have serious doubts that it was unintentional, it looks like a planned provocation," Lavrov said, according to Russian news agency TASS.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>"We are not planning to wage a war against Turkey, our attitude towards the Turkish people has not changed. We have questions only to the Turkish leadership."
One of the two pilots of the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Russian plane was<span style="color: Red;">*</span>rescued early Wednesday, a day after the aircraft was shot down<span style="color: Red;">*</span>in the Bayirbucak region of northwestern Syria near the Turkish border.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Both pilots had parachuted out of the plane<span style="color: Red;">*</span>but one of them was killed by gunfire from the ground.
Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told Russian media that the other pilot was rescued by Russian and Syrian government forces and<span style="color: Red;">*</span>is "safe and sound" at a Russian air base in Syria.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>A marine involved in the rescue operation was killed.
USA TODAY
Putin vows 'tragic consequences' for Turkey
Later Wednesday, Capt. Konstantin Murakhtin, the rescued pilot, spoke<span style="color: Red;">*</span>on Russian TV, saying he received<span style="color: Red;">*</span>no warnings from Turkish jets before his aircraft was shot down, according to the Associated Press. He also denied the aircraft left Syrian airspace.
Turkey had said the plane entered its airspace and that<span style="color: Red;">*</span>it issued 10 warnings<span style="color: Red;">*</span>in five minutes. Russia's defense ministry denied those claims.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>A U.S. Defense official who was not authorized to speak publicly about the incident told USA TODAY the jet appeared to enter Turkish airspace briefly. ?
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday that his country does not want to escalate tensions with Russia over the incident.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Erdogan said Turkey favors "peace, dialogue and diplomacy," but defended his country's actions and added "no one should expect Turkey to stay silent to border violations or the violation of its rights."
USA TODAY
Reports: Turkey shoots down Russian fighter jet
Russian President Vladimir Putin said both crew members<span style="color: Red;">*</span>will receive state awards, as will<span style="color: Red;">*</span>those involved in the 12-hour rescue operation of the second pilot. He said the dead pilot, whose name has not been released,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>will get the Hero of Russia honor posthumously.
Shoigu said Wednesday that Russia will move its new anti-aircraft missiles<span style="color: Red;">*</span>to the Hemeimeem air base<span style="color: Red;">*</span>in a government-controlled part of<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Syria<span style="color: Red;">*</span>around<span style="color: Red;">*</span>30 miles from the Turkish<span style="color: Red;">*</span>border,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>to help<span style="color: Red;">*</span>ensure the safety of flights over the country,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>TASS reported.
Last week,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Russia<span style="color: Red;">*</span>launched extensive attacks on Islamic State targets in Raqqa,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the extremist group's<span style="color: Red;">*</span>headquarters in Syria, after Russian investigators concluded a homemade bomb brought down a Russian passenger plane<span style="color: Red;">*</span>in Egypt last month, killing all 224 aboard. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for bringing down the airliner.
The U.S. government previously said<span style="color: Red;">*</span>most Russian strikes targeted<span style="color: Red;">*</span>moderate rebels, including some backed by the U.S., and that the real purpose of Russia's recent air campaign was not to defeat the Islamic State but to prop up Syrian President Bashar Assad, a key Russian ally.
USA TODAY
Obama: Islamic State must be destroyed
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What you need to know about the Russian warplane shot down near the Syrian border. USA TODAY
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