President Vladimir Putin called Turkey's downing of a Russian fighter jet "a stab in the back" carried out by the accomplices of terrorists, saying the incident would have serious consequences for Moscow's relations with Ankara.
Speaking in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi before a meeting with Jordan's King Abdullah, Putin said the downed plane, which Turkey said it had repeatedly warned, had been attacked inside Syria when it was 1 kilometer from the Turkish border and had come down 4 kilometers inside Syria, according to Reuters.
The incident happened after it reportedly entered Turkish airspace increasing tensions between the two countries.
State-run Turkish news service Anadolu Agency said that the downed warplane was a Russian-made SU-24 and had been engaged by two Turkish F16 jets. It said the plane had been downed in line with Turkey's rules of engagement after violating Ankara's airspace.
President Tayyip Erdogan has been briefed by the head of the military and will talk to Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, Reuters reported.
However, Russia's defense ministry rejected Turkey's version of events, saying the downed fighter jet had not violated Turkish airspace. It said in a statement that the plane had been flying at an altitude of 6,000 meters and was "supposedly shot down from the ground." It emphasized that the plane was within Syrian airspace.
Patrick Abboud
http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000459292
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