Syria conflict must not spark Russia-NATO crisis - Turkish PM

Ankara: Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Wednesday he does not want the conflict in Syria to turn into a crisis between Russia and Nato nor into a Russian-Turkish dispute.

But Turkey, a member of the alliance, will not compromise on the security of its borders or air space, Davutoglu said at a school opening in Istanbul, in comments broadcast live by state TV. Russia breached Turkish air space since launching air strikes in Syria last week.

Only two of Russia’s 57 air strikes in Syria have hit Daesh, while the rest have been against the moderate opposition, the only forces fighting Daesh in northwestern Syria, Davutoglu said.

Turkey says it has proposed a meeting between Turkish and Russian military officials to be held in Ankara on avoiding future Russian infringements of Turkey’s airspace.

Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Tanju Bilgic said Wednesday the Russian ambassador in Turkey was summoned for a third day for further discussions on two weekend incidents of air space violations by Russian jets.

The violations of the Nato-member’s airspace drew strong protest from the alliance. It prompted Turkey to scramble F-16s and summon the ambassador twice to lodge protests.

Bilgic said Turkey proposed the meeting to allow Russian military officials to explain the intrusions and clarify measures they intend to take.

He denied a Russian media report that Turkey has proposed setting up a “working group” on coordinating actions in Syria.