Incident between Turkey and Russia. NATO meets urgently
(B2) The North Atlantic Council (NAC) meets urgently this Tuesday (November 24) at 17 p.m. It was seized by Turkey in order to inform the allies about the incident which occurred this morning. This morning, two Turkish F-16s shot down a Sukhoi Su-24 (*) plane from the Russian air group in Syria which had violated Turkish territorial space bordering Syria. Both pilots were able to eject. But their fate is still uncertain (one of the parachutes could have caught fire).
An ill-chosen moment
This affair comes at a key moment when Paris and Washington are seeking to strengthen cooperation with Moscow in Syria to fight the Islamic State organization (Daesh). Provocations from both sides are not excluded.
On the one hand, violations of Turkish airspace are not uncommon by Russian aviation. It thus “tests” the Turkish defense regularly. Was the test "positive" this time. In any case, on the Turkish side, it is said that warnings were made by Turkish planes and remained unanswered. While on the Russian defense side, it is claimed that the plane was " exclusively over the territory of Syria (...) at an altitude of 6.000 meters "and that the plane was visibly shot down" coming from the ground ". Note that the downed plane hit the ground on the Syrian side.
On the other hand, it is certain that the Russian intervention upsets Ankara's plans in the region. Turkey also intends to protect Turkmen rebels fighting across the border in Syria. Shooting down a plane is normally a final phase of aerial surveillance. Extreme measure, it is normally taken only in case of proven risk and not for a simple territorial violation, which usually gives rise to more traditional measures: visual signals, radios, remote monitoring, shootings.
No article 4?
It can be noted that, for the moment, Turkey has been careful not to invoke Article 4 (opening of formal consultations) on the NATO side, as in previous incidents of an identical nature (1). At the same time, she summoned the Russian ambassador to the Turkish capital. Ordinary procedure in the event of an incident between two countries. This could testify – told us a diplomat from the Alliance – the desire not to exacerbate tensions. The meeting itself could thus not result in a declaration of the Alliance as such (of the 28 Member States). But just from a statement by the organisation's general secretary, Jens Stoltenberg. This would have the effect of not committing NATO as such.
(Nicolas Gros-Verheyde)
Lire: Turkey wants to inform its allies about the action against the Islamic State
(*) Devices also present in the Syrian army
