Downing of Russian plane on Turkey-Syria border to meet adequate reaction - analyst

Turkey’s move to shoot down the Russian Su-124 plane on the Syrian borer border will not go unpunished, a Russian political analyst has said, promising an adequate retaliatory action on the country’s part.

Speaking to Tert.am, Pavel Svyatenkov described the incident as an act tantamount to throwing down a gauntlet to the country.  “If Russia does not react to this act by Turkey, that country will practically have the de facto freedom to follow Russian planes. This is a serious conflict, and the situation is very complicated, because it is a war operation and an act of aggression against Russia.”

But the expert said he doubts as to the specific steps to be taken, noting that the incident’s timing coincided with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to the Iran.

Asked why Turkey chose to strike the Russian aircraft, Svyatenkov said he thinks that the country in that way demonstrated its disagreement to Mr Putin’s support to President Bashar al-Assad of Syria. “For Turkey, it was, as a matter of fact, a surprise that Russia backs Assad instead of fighting him. So Turkey should have naturally expressed its disagreement to the Russian policy. But it crossed all the boundaries, exacerbating the situation,” he added.