Moscow - In response to the Turkish downing of a Russian Su-24, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered to deploy a guided missile cruiser of the coast of Syria to provide aerial security to its forces. Destroy any target that may pose threats to its Russian forces, following Turkey’s shooting down of a Russian fighter jet on Tuesday.
The guided warship, “Moskva”, is equipped with long-range surface-to-air missiles and one of Russia’s two biggest vessels in the Black Sea Fleet. It is intended to strengthen Russia’s base near Latakia.
Russian president Vladimir Putin had already warned of “serious consequences”, accusing Turkey of being an “accomplice of terrorists” and the military operation a “stab in the back”.
Pavel Felgenhauer, one of Moscow’s most respected military analysts said, “a war was most likely”.
According to RT’s report, Sergey Rudskoy, a top official with the Russian General Staff, condemned the attack on the Russian bomber in Syrian airspace by a Turkish fighter jet as “a severe violation of international law”. He stressed that the Su-24 was downed over the Syrian territory. The crash site was four kilometers away from the Turkish border, he said.
“We warn that every target posing a potential threat will be destroyed,” lieutenant general Sergey Rudskoy said during the briefing.
“All military contacts with Turkey will be suspended,” he added.
Russia has made clear that their Syrian anti-terrorism operations will continue unabated. - Carl E.
