terça-feira, 24 de novembro de 2015

Row over Russian jet clouds EU-Turkey summit


Row over Russian jet clouds EU-Turkey summit

The EU’s Donald Tusk urges both sides to remain “cool-headed and calm.”

By HANS VON DER BURCHARD AND JACOPO BARIGAZZI 11/24/15, 8:37 PM CET Updated 11/24/15, 9:55 PM CET


The EU and NATO urged Ankara and Moscow to avoid escalation in the row over Turkey’s shooting down of a Russian fighter, which risks jeopardizing Brussels’ hopes that both countries can help ease the refugee crisis and combat ISIL.

Vladimir Putin’s outspoken condemnation of ISIL’s attacks on Paris have raised hopes that Russia could play an important role in attacking the terrorists’ bases in Syria and Iraq, while NATO member Turkey’s help is key to controlling the influx of refugees.

“In this dangerous moment after downing of Russian jet, all should remain cool headed and calm,” European Council President Donald Tusk, who will host a special EU-Turkey summit in Brussels on Sunday, wrote on Twitter.

Putin reacted furiously to the incident, saying the Russian plane was in Syrian airspace and calling Turkey’s action “a stab in the back delivered by terrorists’ accomplices.” Turkey, in a letter to the U.N. explaining its decision, said the Russian plane was in its airspace for 17 seconds and had ignored 10 warnings in the space of five minutes not to enter Turkish territory.

The Russian leader hinted at the possibility of releasing information that would discredit Turkish President Recep Erdoğan, speaking of the alleged transfer to Turkey of oil and gas products from areas under ISIL’s control.

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, which claimed responsibility for the deadly terrorist attacks in Paris on November 13, is currently the target of French, U.S. and now Russian air strikes in Syria and allied air strikes on its bases in Iraq.

French President François Hollande, who has declared “war” on ISIL, met with U.S. President Barack Obama Tuesday, and will fly to Moscow Thursday in the hope of securing Russian help in a joint assault on the terrorist organization.

In that context, if Putin undermines the Turkish president’s credibility in the fight against ISIL, “it might be embarrassing for us to sit down with him,” said one EU official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

HaberTurk TV Channel shows a burning trail as a plane comes down after being shot down near the Turkish-Syrian border

Another source close to the EU-Turkey talks said it was “unlikely these tensions will affect the summit, as they concern relations with NATO and not the talks with the EU.”

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said after a specially-convened meeting of the alliance on Tuesday to discuss the incident that he had “previously expressed concerns about the Russian military activities close to the border of a NATO country.”

He called for de-escalation and “more contacts between Moscow and Ankara to avoid these kind of incidents in the future.”

U.S. President Barack Obama took a similar line, telling reporters after his talks with Hollande that it was important to avoid an escalation of tensions, while criticizing Russia because its jets “are operating very close to the Turkish border and targeting groups supported by Turkey and a number of other countries.”

“If Russia focuses its energy on Daesh [a synonym for ISIL], such problems are less likely to happen,” said Obama.

Turkey has repeatedly warned the Russian government over violations of its airspace. On October 3, a Russian fighter plane flying over Turkish soil was forced back by interceptor planes. Moscow blamed “bad weather.”

Two weeks later the Turkish military said it had shot down a Russian drone which Ankara said had entered Turkish airspace

Authors:


Hans von der Burchard and Jacopo Barigazzi  

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