Tri-Service

Turkey Slams Russian Missile Launcher "Provocation"

Turkey's foreign minister has called on Russia to end "provocative acts" after images were captured of a Russian soldier apparently pointing a missile launcher as his warship navigated through Turkish waters.

Mevlut Cavusoglu said Turkey had made the necessary response over Sunday's incident which came amid escalating Russian-Turkish tensions following Turkey's downing of a Russian plane.

A Russian pilot was killed, and the Kremlin responded by imposing economic sanctions on Turkey. Mr Cavusoglu did not provide details but said:

"The ship's passage in such a way was an openly provocative passage. This has to end."

The serviceman is alleged to have been holding the missile in the shooting position as the Caesar Kunikov (pictured above) passed through Turkish waters.

I took photos CaesarKunikov and RussianSoldier with manpads passing through Bosphorus. 4/12/15 15:15 #russia #turkey pic.twitter.com/1M4OZZqYEj
— Emre Dağdeviren (@emredagdeviiren) December 4, 2015

The country is obligated during peacetime to let all ships pass through the Bosphorus strait, which runs through Istanbul, under the terms of a treaty which dates back to 1923.

It's also the only passage Russia's Black Sea fleet can use to access the Mediterranean and the rest of the world's oceans.

Mr Cavusoglu renewed a call for the two sides to overcome tensions through diplomatic means and for Russia to halt punitive sanctions on Turkey.

The minister added: "We are asking Russia to act as a more mature state."

More: Turkey Releases Recording Of "Warnings" To Downed Russian Plane

Cover photo courtesy of Luis Díaz-Bedia Astor.