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News of Bahrain
World7 October 20152 min read

Turkey PM says 'only two' Russia strikes aimed at IS

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu Wednesday said only two Russian air strikes in Syria had targeted Islamic State jihadists and warned that Ankara would not make any concessions about the security of its borders. His comments came after Russian warplanes twice violated the a

Editorial Team Legacy

Published 7 October 2015, 8:00 · Updated 21:29

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Turkey PM says 'only two' Russia strikes aimed at IS

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu Wednesday said only two Russian air strikes in Syria had targeted Islamic State jihadists and warned that Ankara would not make any concessions about the security of its borders.

His comments came after Russian warplanes twice violated the airspace of key NATO member Turkey in the last days.

Davutoglu said only two out of 57 bombardments had targeted IS fighters with all the others targeting moderate rebels backed by Turkey and the United States.

He said in televised remarks that the figures were based on military intelligence Turkey had received.

Davutoglu warned against any operation targeting civilians and the Syrian opposition which he said could lead to a new refugee influx.

Russian aircraft also violated Turkish airspace on Saturday and on Sunday, prompting Ankara to summon the Russian envoy to the foreign ministry twice to protest the breach.

Also, Turkish F-16 jets carrying out reconnaissance flights on the Syrian border were harassed and put on radar lock by unidentified MIG-29 planes in the last days.

Davutoglu said Turkey's airspace was naturally NATO airspace, urging Russia to respect his country's border security while dismissing any tensions with its major trade partner.

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