Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 28
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Amid the growing tension in Turkey-Russia relations, NATO is unlikely to be dragged into this bilateral issue between the two countries, Amanda Paul, the senior policy analyst at the European Policy Centre (EPC) said on "This Week in Focus" program.
"This reflects the situation in Syria where there is still hope for broader cooperation in the fight against the IS (ISIL or ISIS)," Paul said.
Speaking about the Turkey-downed Russian Su-24 bomber, the analyst said that judging from the radar picture released by the Turkish authorities immediately after the incident, it was clear that that bomber was in the country's airspace.
"Russians can be extremely economical with the truth," Paul said, adding that it is not surprising that Russia said the bomber was in Syria's territory.
She further spoke on the Syrian crisis and the IS.
"Despite the fact that Russia says that it primarily targeting the IS, and they are, still the majority of time has been spent targeting the opposition groups, which are supported by the West," she said.
Paul believes such actions hamper attempts for a broader international cooperation on the issue.
Meanwhile, Russia's operations in Syria cost billions for the country, Paul said. "Russia is already hurting economically, but the policy of Putin is that strategic objectives outweigh economic considerations."
The Turkish Air Force shot down the Russian military planes SU-24 in its airspace Nov. 24.
Both pilots managed to eject and the plane crashed on the territory of Syria.
On September 30, Russia began air strikes on IS in Syria following Syrian President Bashar Assad's request for military assistance. Russia fired a total of 26 long-range missiles from ships in the Caspian Sea at targets in Syria on Oct. 7, targeting the IS.
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