NATO blames Russia for conflict with Turkey

15:09, 16.02.2016 1 min read

From the NATO point of view, the conflict between Russia and Turkey has been provoked by the repeated trespassing of the Turkish airspace by Russian military planes, NATO Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia James Appathurai said in Baku on Tuesday.

He said that Russian military planes violated the Turkish airspace several times, despite the repeating warnings.

The NATO secretary general has urged the sides to resolve problems and to reduce bilateral tensions, he said.

NATO and Turkey made statements, saying that Russia should stop violating the Turkish airspace, Appathurai said. NATO heads and all of the countries of the alliance want to achieve greater transparency and to reduce risks throughout the Euro-Atlantic space, he said.

The level of military activity in the region is obviously very high, Appathurai said, primarily pointing the finger at Russia.