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Russian FM: Downing of warplane a 'planned provocation'

Jane Onyanga-Omara
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.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Wednesday that the downing of a Russian warplane by Turkey 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. "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 Russian plane was rescued early Wednesday, a day after the aircraft was shot down in the Bayirbucak region of northwestern Syria near the Turkish border. Both pilots had parachuted out of the plane 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 is "safe and sound" at a Russian air base in Syria. A marine involved in the rescue operation was killed.

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Later Wednesday, Capt. Konstantin Murakhtin, the rescued pilot, spoke on Russian TV, saying he received 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 it issued 10 warnings in five minutes. Russia's defense ministry denied those claims. 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. 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."

Fatih Oke, the press officer at Turkey’s embassy in Washington said Turkey’s action on Tuesday "is not a provocation.”

"We have a right to protect our borders,” Oke said. "We repeatedly communicated our rules of engagement for aircraft crossing our border from Syria.”

Turkey downs Russian warplane claiming airspace breach

Russian President Vladimir Putin said both crew members will receive state awards, as will those involved in the 12-hour rescue operation of the second pilot. He said the dead pilot, whose name has not been released, will get the Hero of Russia honor posthumously.

Shoigu said Wednesday that Russia will move its new anti-aircraft missiles to the Hemeimeem air base in a government-controlled part of Syria around 30 miles from the Turkish border, to help ensure the safety of flights over the country, TASS reported.

Last week, Russia launched extensive attacks on Islamic State targets in Raqqa, the extremist group's headquarters in Syria, after Russian investigators concluded a homemade bomb brought down a Russian passenger plane in Egypt last month, killing all 224 aboard. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for bringing down the airliner.

The U.S. government previously said most Russian strikes targeted 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.

Contributing: Oren Dorell in Washington

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