2nd LD Writethru: Russian warship fires warning shots to avoid collision with Turkish fishing boat in Aegean Sea

A Russian warship fired warning shots to avert a collision with a Turkish fishing boat in the Aegean Sea on Sunday, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

"The crew of the Russian frigate Smetlivy, located 22 kilometers from the Greek island of Lemnos in the northern part of the Aegean Sea, has used firearms to avert a collision with a Turkish fishing boat," the ministry said.

The ministry made a harsh representation to the military attache of the Turkish Embassy in Moscow, who was summoned by the Russian side earlier in the day. It said that it had warned the attache of the possible consequences of the "careless actions," and expressed deep concern over the new provocative actions from the Turkish side.

The Turkish military attache promised to inform Ankara of Moscow's representation about the incident.

The Turkish vessel was detected about 1 km away from the anchored Russian warship, and the crew was forced to fire warning shots when the distance between the two ships were about 600 meters.

The Turkish fishing boat sharply changed its course and passed by about 540 meters away from the vessel after the warning.

Relations between Moscow and Ankara worsened dramatically after Turkey shot down a Russian bomber near the Turkish-Syrian border late November over an alleged violation of its air space. Russian President Vladimir Putin called the shooting down of the warplane a "stab in the back."

Russia has imposed a series of economic sanctions on Turkey and has been locked in a war of words with Turkish authorities. Endit