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White House "quite concerned" by Russia's incursion into Turkish airspace

Xinhua, October 6, 2015 Adjust font size:

The White House said on Monday that the U.S. and its allies are "quite concerned" by Russia's incursion into Turkish airspace, calling the incident a "provocation."

Turkey said on Monday that a Russian warplane violated its airspace on Saturday in the southern Yayladagi town of Hatay province near the Syrian border.

Russia called the violation of Turkish airspace an innocent mistake, blaming foul weather.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters at a regular briefing that the U.S., Turkey and other NATO allies have been in active discussion on the incident.

Earnest added that Russia's recent actions in Syria put "further off into the distance the kind of political transition that the Russians themselves acknowledge are necessary to accomplish their goals."

At the State Department, spokesman Mark Toner said the U.S. views the Russia's incursion into Turkish airspace as "reckless", "dangerous", and "provocative."

"It can cause accidents and miscalculation and risk the safety of airmen and airwomen in Turkey and elsewhere," Toner said at a regular briefing.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry has summoned the Russian ambassador in Turkey and "strongly protested this violation," the ministry said in a statement.

The ministry "demanded that any such violation not be repeated and affirmed that, otherwise, Russia will be responsible for any undesired incident that may occur," the statement added.

Turkish Foreign Minister Feridun Sinirlioglu had called his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, and conveyed the protest.

The Turkish foreign minister also had telephone conversations with his U.S., French, Italian and British counterparts over the incident and plans to consult with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier as well, said the statement. Enditem