Russia is not going to give a military response to Turkey for the incident with the Su-24 bomber, but will intensify defense of operations of Russian Military Space Forces in Syria, said Russia's Permanent Representative to the EU Vladimir Chizhov, RIA Novosti news agency reported.
A Sukhoi Su-24 bomber of Russia's Aerospace Forces was downed by an air-to-air missile Nov.24 fired by a Turkish F-16 fighter jet. Both pilots managed to eject and the plane crashed on the territory of Syria. Later the Russian Defense Ministry specified that the Su-24 was downed when it was returning to the Khmeimim airbase in Syria.
However, Turkey's General Staff claims that the Turkish fighter jet shot down a plane that violated the country's airspace. A statement circulated by the Turkish military says the plane's crew received 10 warnings for five minutes.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with King of Jordan Abdullah II Nov.24 that Ankara's attack against the Russian Sukhoi Su-24 plane, which took part in Russia's antiterrorism operation in Syria and did not present a threat to Turkey, was a "stab in Russia's back" delivered by terrorists' accomplices.
"Well, of course, on the military side, we are not going to declare war on Turkey," Chizhov said in an interview with "Euronews" regarding retaliation from Russia or some strong measures in response to this incident "But further operations of the Russian air force in Syria will be more heavily protected."
Speaking about the fact that Russia recommended tourists to refrain from going to Turkey, he said that it's a warning guided primarily by the concerns of Russian citizens. "Of course, this incident, this provocative action, by the Turkish side will certainly impact in a negative way our bilateral relations," Chizhov said.
He said that the Russian Su-24 bomber didn't violate Turkish airspace, and the whole incident with the attack was planned in advance.
"It's not a case of violation of the Turkish airspace, either voluntary or involuntary," he said. "At speeds with which such planes fly, any entry and exit into the airspace of a neighboring country would have been just seconds. A much shorter time than it takes for the Turkish fighters in this case to be scrambled, take off and shoot down the Russian plane, which is a clear indication that this whole incident was preplanned."