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NATO says Russia deliberately violating Turkey air space
By Stuart WILLIAMS and Sara HUSSEIN in Beirut
Istanbul (AFP) Oct 6, 2015


Russia willing to work to avert air accidents over Syria: Pentagon
Rome (AFP) Oct 6, 2015 - Moscow has said it will work to avert potential mishaps between Russian and US pilots flying missions over Syria, Pentagon officials said Tuesday.

US and Russian officials held discussions last week -- at Russia's request -- on establishing measures to avoid accidents so warplanes flying over Syria would not be in the same place at the same time.

The so-called "deconfliction" talks came after Russia started bombing in support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, further complicating the four-and-a-half-year conflict.

But despite Russian violations of Turkish air space at the weekend, Moscow has not participated in further talks -- frustrating US military officials who'd made repeated overtures.

US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter has spoken repeatedly in recent days about Russia's "irresponsible and unprofessional" moves in Syria.

Moscow on Tuesday seemed to respond to those remarks.

A senior defense official, speaking during a European tour by Carter, said Moscow had indicated it was open "in principle" to carrying out pledges made during the first round of talks.

Officials have said these commitments could include undertakings on which language Russian and American pilots will use for communication, the choice of radio frequency for distress calls and the altitude at which warplanes will operate.

"We look forward to the formal response from the Russians and learning the details. We stand ready to meet again to continue our earlier discussion as soon as possible," Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said.

Turkey says Russian fighter jets violated its air space near the Syrian border on Saturday and Sunday, further heightening tensions.

On Tuesday, it said that eight Turkish F-16 jets, carrying out reconnaissance flights over the Turkish-Syrian border a day earlier, were held on radar lock by an unidentified MiG-29.

Radar lock enables a warplane's missile systems to automatically follow a target.

- 'Strengthen our posture' -

Carter said violations of Turkish airspace would "cause us further to strengthen our posture with respect to Russia," although he did not elaborate.

The Pentagon has repeatedly stressed Russia's involvement in Syria would not alter continued air strikes against Islamic State jihadists there and in Iraq as part of a coalition of more than 60 nations.

Carter could not confirm reports Moscow was committing "volunteer" ground troops to fight in Syria, but said if true, "that would simply be deepening their mistake".

Russia already has at least 2,000 military personnel in Syria, Pentagon officials say. They are stationed at an air base in the Latakia region in the country's northwest.

A defense official told AFP that Russia had moved artillery and helicopters to support potential operations in the areas of Latakia, Homs and Mara.

Carter visited Sigonella, a US-Italian base in Sicily, after stopping at another base in Moron de la Frontera in southern Spain, where Washington and Madrid have agreed the permanent establishment of a force of 2,200 US marines.

Carter's five-day trip to Spain, Italy, Britain and a NATO ministerial meeting in Brussels is intended to recognise the work of ally nations as they scramble to tackle the refugee crisis sparked by Syria and react to new threats on NATO's "Southern Flank," including unrest in North Africa.

The tour comes at a fraught time for Carter, who started in the Pentagon's top job in February.

He is dealing with the fallout from a US air strike on a hospital in the Afghan city of Kunduz that killed 22 people.

Carter's top general in Afghanistan earlier acknowledged the strike had been in error.

"The Department of Defense deeply regrets the loss of innocent lives that resulted from this tragic event," Carter said.

NATO's secretary general on Tuesday accused Russia of deliberately violating Turkish air space in its bombing campaign in Syria, as Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Moscow against continuing such "undesirable" behaviour.

Russian fighter jets entered Turkish air space in two separate incidents at the weekend, prompting Ankara to summon the Russian ambassador twice to protest both violations.

Meanwhile, the Turkish military has said its fighter jets were harassed by a MIG-29 plane from an unidentified country close to Syria on Sunday and Monday.

The anger over Russia's air incursions has intensified controversy over its bombing campaign in Syria which Turkey and the West fears is aimed at keeping President Bashar al-Assad in power.

"For us, this does not look like an accident, it is a serious violation," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in Brussels.

Turkey and Russia have long been at loggerheads over the Syrian conflict, with Ankara seeking the overthrow of Assad while Moscow does everything to keep him in power.

In his toughest remarks yet, the Turkish president lashed out at the incursions, saying "some undesirable steps have been taken and it does not befit Turkey to accept this."

"It is, of course, not possible to remain patient about this," he added on a state visit to Belgium.

Russia and Turkey have in recent years sought to step up cooperation, agreeing to build a new gas pipeline beneath the Black Sea and Turkey's first nuclear power plant, while targeting $100 billion in bilateral trade from 2023.

But Erdogan warned that Russia risked losing Turkey as a friend if its behaviour continued.

"If Russia loses a friend like Turkey with whom it has a lot of cooperation it is going to lose a lot of things. It needs to know this," he added.

- Fresh raids on IS -

As diplomatic tensions simmered, the defence ministry in Moscow said Turkish officials had told the Russian military attache that they wanted to discuss setting up a working group between the two sides to avoid future incidents.

There was no immediate comment from officials in Ankara.

Meanwhile, Russian jets carried out air strikes on 12 Islamic State sites in Syria on Tuesday, as Moscow expanded its week-old bombing campaign in the war-torn country.

In a statement, the defence ministry said Russian warplanes had carried out some 20 sorties, hitting "logistical infrastructure, command posts, training camps and bases" belonging to IS jihadists around the eastern city of Deir Ezzor and in the provinces of Damascus, Idlib and Latakia.

The statement made no mention of a bombing near the city of Palmyra despite Syrian state TV reporting Russian bombing raids in and around the city. The defence ministry dismissed the report as "absolute lies".

On Sunday, jihadists had blown up Palmyra's Arch of Triumph, prompting fresh outrage at the destruction of the UNESCO World Heritage site.

Russia says it is striking against Islamic State (IS) jihadists and other terrorist groups in Syria after a conspicuous military-build up in the last weeks that raised international concern.

But the West and Turkey have accused Russia of striking at US-backed moderate rebels who have been working to overthrow Assad.

US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter expressed disappointment over the lack of new talks with Russia aimed at preventing accidents as the US-led coalition also bombs IS targets.

But on Tuesday, a senior Pentagon official said Russia had informally pledged to push ahead with efforts to avert potential mishaps with US pilots overflying Syria.

During talks last week, both sides agreed to a series of commitments, the source said, indicating it involved undertakings on which language pilots will use to communicate, the choice of radio frequency and the altitude at which they will operate.

The Pentagon acknowledged the move and said it hoped to hear a formal response from Russia.

The Russian operations come more than a year after a US-led coalition began bombing IS in Syria in a bid to destroy the group.

The advance of the extremists across Syria added to the exodus of refugees into neighbouring countries, including Turkey which is now hosting almost two million Syrians.

The EU said it would step up resettling refugees now in Turkey and help reinforce Turkish coastguard patrols under a crisis plan discussed during talks with Erdogan on Monday.

- 'Unfavourable weather' -

Russia has acknowledged one air incursion incident into Turkey on Saturday, which it blamed on "unfavourable weather conditions".

"There is no need to look for some conspiracy theories," the defence ministry said of the incident, which it added lasted "several seconds".

According to NATO, Turkish airspace was violated by Russian SU-30 and SU-24 aircraft in the southern Hatay region on Saturday and Sunday.

Meanwhile, the Turkish military said its F-16 jets were harassed and put on radar lock by an unidentified MIG-29 aircraft on the Syrian border Monday.

But it was unclear if the incident -- the second of its kind in two days -- was linked to Russia.

Meanwhile the Kremlin denied suggestions Russia is planning to send ground troops to Syria and said it will not support Russian volunteers willing to take part in the conflict.

bur-sah-sjw/hmw

Heritage


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