To Su-24 fly nærmede sig tyrkisk luftrum tirsdag morgen, sagde et brev addresseret til FNs generalsekretær Ban Ki-moon og de 15 medlemmer af FNs sikkerhedsråd.
De russiske fly er beskrevet i et dokument, som er udgivet af WikiLeaks og Al Jazeera, som fly af "ukendt nationalitet."
Turkey's statement: Claims Russia violated airspace for just "17 seconds" with very slow 243 miles/hour jet. pic.twitter.com/knhdy0RWIA— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) November 24, 2015Kommentar: Denne artikel er delvis oversat til dansk af sott.net fra: Leaked Turkish letter to UN sez 'air space violation' of Russian jet lasted just 17 SECONDS
The letter allegedly from Turkish UN Ambassador Halit Cevik reiterates Ankara's claim that the two planes were "warned 10 times during a period of five minutes via 'emergency' channels" to change direction.
Comment: How can you warn somebody of anything, over a period of 5 minutes... inside of 17 seconds??
"Disregarding these warnings, both planes, at an altitude of 19,000 feet, violated Turkish national airspace to a depth of 1.36 miles and 1.15 miles in length for 17 seconds from 9:24:05 local time," the leaked document said.
MAP: Monitoring data of Russian Su24 downed by Turkey in Syria released by Defense Ministry https://t.co/1rxn3pyMkX pic.twitter.com/PxLRNJugLk— RT (@RT_com) November 24, 2015One of the planes then left the Turkish airspace, while "plane two was fired at while in Turkish airspace by Turkish F-16s," Cevik allegedly wrote.
This provided ground for Turkish forces to attack the Russian warplanes in accordance with the new rules of military engagement adopted in 2012 over the deterioration of the situation in Syria.
"Following the violation, plane one left Turkish national airspace. Plane two was fired at while in Turkish airspace by Turkish F-16s performing air combat patrolling in that area," the leaked letter said. "Plane two crashed onto the Syrian side of the Turkish-Syrian border."
Russia denies these claims, saying its plane was downed in Syrian airspace, where Russia is conducting an air operation against Islamic State and other terrorists.
Russia's General Staff said that airfield radar at the Hmeymim base showed that it was the Turkish fighter jet that actually entered Syrian airspace as it attacked the Russian bomber.
Vladimir Putin called Ankara's actions "a stab in the back delivered by accomplices of the terrorists," adding that the incident will have "severe consequences" for relations between Russia and Turkey.
There are conflicting reports on the fate of the two pilots from the downed Su-24 warplane.
The Turkmen militia, fighting the Syrian government in the area, claimed to have killed both pilots as they were parachuting from their jet after it was hit.
The Free Syrian Army affiliate, the 10th Brigade in the Coast also said that it is in possession of the corpse of one of the Russian pilots and is searching for another one.
The General Staff said that, according to preliminary data, one of the Su-24 pilots died after being fired at from the ground, while a rescue operation for his partner is underway.
However, Reuters cited a Turkish government official, who said that both pilots are alive and Ankara is working to retrieve them from the rebels.
Kommentar: For a number of decades now, the Turkish air force has periodically violated Syrian and Iraqi airspace in order to bomb Kurds - all of it justified by invoking 'legitimate self-defense' against 'terrorist atrocities committed in Turkey by ethnic Kurds, who find safe haven in neighbouring countries.'
So here's a question:
Given that ISIS and its 'moderate' variants are also situated across the border in Turkey, would Russia be within its rights under international law to bomb them there? If ISIS bombed the Metrojet commercial airplane over the Sinai, then can Russia do as France did and legitimately invoke self-defense and strike ISIS wherever it is located?