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Thursday 26 Nov 2015 - 12:10 Makkah mean time-14-2-1437
Berlin, (IINA) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel has called on Wednesday for de-escalating tensions between Turkey and Russia after the recent downing of the Russian warplane that violated Turkish airspace, Anadolu Agency reported.
“Of course, every country has a right to protect its territory”, Merkel said during her speech at the preliminary session of the German parliament in Berlin.
“But, on the other hand, we know what kind of a tense situation we have in Syria and the surrounding region. I have talked with Turkish prime minister yesterday and urged to do everything to de-escalate the situation”, she said. “We must now do everything to prevent an escalation”.
Merkel said that the downing of the Russian aircraft further complicated the situation in Syria, but underlined that only a political solution could end the civil war in Syria.
“It is important that all the actors which are indispensable for a solution to the Syria conflict sit on the same table, Russia, the US, the Europeans, the Arab states, Iran and Turkey”, she said.
Merkel hoped that the Vienna talks, which enabled global and regional actors to sit on the same table for a solution to the Syria conflict, would not be hampered by the downing of the Russian warplane.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that Ankara did not want to escalate the incident, but could not remain silent in the face of constant violations of its border security and ignorance of its sovereignty on the Turkey-Syria border.
Erdogan said that Ankara had conveyed its sensitivity regarding the violations before and did its best on its part to avoid such an incident.
Meanwhile, Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias expressed his grave concern over the incident in a phone call to his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday.
Kotzias said that it was crucial to defuse tensions and urged all sides involved to address the situation calmly. He also assured Lavrov of Greece’s support for the talks in Vienna to resolve the Syrian issue.
It is noteworthy that this was not the first time Russian fighter jets had violated Turkish airspace. In early October, Russian warplanes had breached Turkish airspace for which Russian officials apologized and pledged not to repeat such an incident. Turkey had also renewed its warning to implement engagement rules, including military response against violations of Turkish airspace.
AG/IINA
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