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2nd LD Writethru: NATO chief calls for calm following Turkey downing of Russian jet

Xinhua, November 25, 2015 Adjust font size:

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called for calm and de-escalation after a meeting of NATO's political decision-making body on Tuesday.

The extraordinary meeting of the North Atlantic Council was requested by Turkey after it shot down a Russian fighter jet. Turkey became a NATO member state in 1952.

NATO has been updated by the Turkish Ambassador on the recent events, Stoltenberg told reporters.

He said he has expressed concerns about the implications of the military actions of the Russia close to NATO's borders.

"This highlights the importance of having and respecting arrangements to avoid such incidents in the future," said Stoltenberg.

"I look forward to further contacts between Ankara and Moscow and I call for calm and de-escalation," he said, adding that "diplomacy and de-escalation are important to resolve this situation."

Stoltenberg added that NATO stands in solidarity with Turkey.

The Russian Defense Ministry on Tuesday confirmed that a Su-24 warplane crashed in Syria. Endit