According to the president, the attack against Su-24 plane in Syria goes beyond normal struggle against terrorism, and it is "a stab in Russias back" delivered by "terrorism accomplices"
SOCHI, November 24. /TASS/. Russia's Sukhoi Su-24 attack aircraft was downed with an air-to-air missile launched from a Turkish F-16 fighter, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday.
The Russian leader stressed that the Russian Su-24 fighter-bomber was posing no threat to Turkey.
"Anyway, our pilots and jet posed no threat to the Turkish Republic. This is obvious. They were conducting an operation against ISIL," Putin said at the meeting with King Abdallah II of Jordan.
Putin called the attack a crime and stressed that Russia would not tolerate it. According to the president, the Su-24 plane crash in Syria goes beyond normal struggle against terrorism, and it is "a stab in Russias back delivered by terrorist accomplices."
"Todays loss is linked with a stab in our back delivered by terrorism accomplices. I cant characterize otherwise what has happened today," the Russian leader said.
The Russian bomber was shot down over Syria by an air-to-air surface fired from a Turkish F-16 plane when the bomber was at an altitude of 6,000 meters at a distance of 1 km from the Turkish bomber." Putin said.
The president said the attack on the Russian jet will have tragic consequences to Russia-Turkey ties.
Turkey's military attache in Russia has been summoned to the Russian Defense Ministry.