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NATO: Russian Violation Of Turkish Airspace 'No Accident'

NATO's secretary-general has rejected Moscow's claim that its military incursion into alliance airspace over Turkey was not intentional or important, saying there were two separate incidents and "the violation lasted for a long time".

Jens Stoltenberg told a news conference in Brussels the reported incidents were "very serious".

Mr Stoltenberg added: "It doesn't look like an accident, and we've seen two of them over the weekend."

On Monday, NATO ambassadors met in special session, condemning what they termed Russia's "irresponsible behaviour" and calling on Moscow to cease such practices.

Russia admitted the plane had entered Turkey "by mistake" and assured Ankara it would not happen again, he said.

But a senior US official said the Obama administration also does not believe the incursion was an accident, and officials are in urgent talks with allies about what to do.

The incident comes amid Turkish concerns over Russian air strikes in Syria that have targeted some foreign-backed insurgents. Turkey and Russia also have conflicting positions on the Syrian regime, with Russia backing president Bashar al-Assad and Turkey insisting on his removal.

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