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Turkey Releases Recording Of "Warnings" To Downed Russian Plane

The Turkish military has released audio recordings of what it says were repeated warnings to a Russian warplane before it was shot down on the Syrian border.

The recordings indicate the plane was warned several times that it was approaching Turkey's airspace, and asked to change course.

In them, a voice is heard saying in English:

"This is Turkish Air Force speaking on guard. You are approaching Turkish airspace. Change your heading south immediately."

The tone of the voice then gets more agitated as the warnings appear to go unnoticed.

The audio that was released only involved Turkish warnings, with no replies by a Russian pilot.

It isn't clear whether Russian replies were received but not released by the Turkish government, or whether the Russian pilots never replied to - or never heard - the warnings.

One of the Russian pilots was killed by militants in Syria after ejecting from the plane, while his crewmate was rescued by Syrian army commandos. A Russian marine was also killed by the militants during the rescue mission.

More: The Lethal Russian Air Power Deployed In Syria

The rescued pilot denied claims the jet had violated Turkish airspace and that warnings had been given, while Turkey said it had tried to rescue the SU-24 bomber's two pilots.

Russia, meanwhile, plans to retaliate against Turkey by imposing sanctions, cutting economic ties and scrapping major investment projects.

Since the plane was shot down in disputed circumstances on the Syria-Turkey border on Tuesday, Russia has already restricted tourism, left Turkish trucks stranded at the border and announced the confiscation of large quantities of Turkish food imports.

The nosedive in relations threatens billions of dollars of international trade, as well as further complicating the Syrian conflict.

Russia is the largest destination for Turkey's exports, and the two countries are bound by plans for a new gas pipeline and strong trade in food and tourism.