Russia says one of its warships was been forced to fire warning shots at a Turkish vessel in the Aegean Sea to avoid a collision. Moscow?s defense ministry says the Turkish military attache was summoned over the incident involving a Russian destroyer.
Russia?s Interfax news agency reports that the Turkish vessel had failed to respond to earlier warnings, but quickly changed course after shots were fired before passing within a few hundred meters of the Russian warship.
Russia’s ministry statement says the guided missile destroyer Smetlivy was unable to establish radio contact Sunday with the approaching Turkish seiner, which also failed to respond to visual signals and flares. So when the ship was 660 yards away, the destroyer fired and the Turkish vessel quickly changed course, passing within 540 yards.
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Tensions are high after Turkey downed a Russian warplane near the Syrian border last month. Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered tough economic sanctions in retaliation for the incident.
Turkey insists the Russian plane violated its airspace despite numerous warnings it issued to the Russian pilots and has said it won’t apologize for the downing, which killed a Russian pilot. A Russian marine also died trying to retrieve a second pilot.
Russia claims Turkey shot down its plane to protect what President Vladimir Putin has described as Turkish profiteering from the ISIS oil trade. Russia has imposed sanctions against Turkish products in retaliation for the downing.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has denounced the Turkish action as a “treacherous stab in the back,” and insisted that the plane was downed over Syrian territory in violation of international law.
Video Source: Arirang News.
