Russian Defense Ministry officials sit under a display showing the Turkish-Syrian border during a briefing in Moscow, Dec. 2, 2015. (photo by REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin)
Semih Idiz, Al-Monitor: Will Turkey risk military confrontation with Russia?
Tensions between Russia and Turkey continue to escalate following the downing in November of a Russian Su-24 fighter jet that strayed into Turkish airspace.
Questions are being raised now whether the two countries are heading for a military confrontation. A leading Turkish military expert told Al-Monitor that such a Russian move could spell disaster for Turkey.
Turkey accused Russia of violating its airspace again last week and summoned Russia’s ambassador in Ankara to lodge a formal protest. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu also warned Moscow that it was playing with fire and would have to face the consequences.
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WNU Editor: When it comes to Turkey nothing surprises me. But if Turkey decides to pursue an open conflict with Russia in that hope that NATO would then jump in and protect Turkey.... tensions throughout the Middle East and eastern Europe will increase exponentially. Russia is already itching to shoot down a few Turkish fighters after Turkey had shot down a Russian fighter a few months ago .... and they would not stop there. Russia would start to support and arm the Kurds, and God only knows what else. My hope is that NATO is aware of this .... and they have already told Turkey to back-off. But events on the ground in the Middle East are now incredibly fluid, and if Turkey's allies in Syria start to lose ground against the Syrian army (which is what is happening now) ... who knows what Turkey may decide to do next.