Tri-Service

Putin Declares Jet Downing 'A Stab In The Back'

Turkey 'Shoots Down Russian SU-24 On Syrian Border'

One of the pilots of a Russian Su-24 'Fencer' attack aircraft, shot down by two Turkish F-16 jets is believed to have survived and been returned to a Russian operated airbase in Syria.

The Russian Defence Ministry had earlier said the pilots ejected but that Moscow had had no further contact with them. Unverified video footage has emerged showing at least one crew member dead, apparently shot by machine-gun fire while descending to the ground by parachute. A Turkish-speaking rebel group claimed it killed both men. At the same time the Turkish government was insisting they'd been taken captive and that they're working to secure their release.

Turkish officials insist the Su-24 crew were warned 10 times over the space of 5 minutes that they were violating the country's airspace. US defence sources say however that the incursion lasted a matter of seconds.

The incident has caused a huge diplomatic storm with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov cancelling his upcoming visit to Turkey and warning Russian tourists against travelling there.

"The decision has been taken to cancel the meeting that was planned for tomorrow in Istanbul between the foreign ministers of Russia and Turkey," Mr Lavrov said in televised comments.

The Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that the Russian warplane was hit well within Syrian airspace some four kilometers from the Turkish border: "We will analyse everything in detail and today's tragic events will have significant consequences including for relations between Russia and Turkey."

Before adding on the state-owned TV channel Rossiya 24 that the incident amounted to "a stab in the back" committed by "accomplices of terrorists".

Nato has also held an emergency session, the meeting in Brussels convened at the request of Turkey. Nato spokeswoman Carmen Romero said: "The aim of this extraordinary NAC meeting is for Turkey to inform allies about the downing of a Russian airplane, Nato is monitoring the situation closely. We are in close contact with Turkish authorities."

The UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond meanwhile has told MPs that British officials are urgently seeking details about the incident from Ankara and Moscow.

Conflicting accounts are being with the Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov describing today's events as a "very serious incident" but warning against drawing conclusions, adding:

"It is just impossible to say something without having full information,"

More... Comment: Putin in Syria - The War Just Got Worse

Numerous videos appear to show the plane crashing:

Rami Abdurrahman, who heads the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said the warplane crashed in the Turkomen Mountains region in the coastal province of Latakia.

Footage of the warplane downed by the Turkish airforce along #Syria border, allegedly a SU24 pic.twitter.com/tyiOmCzsug https://t.co/ZTDY1GnHn1
— Bojan Pancevski (@bopanc) November 24, 2015