Russia’s foreign minister today said the downing of its fighter jet by Turkey appeared to be a “planned provocation” but said the countries would not go to war over the incident. “We have serious doubts about this being an unpremeditated act, it really looks like a planned provocation,” Foreign Minister Sergei lavrov said at a press conference in Moscow after speaking with Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu.
“We do not plan to go to war with Turkey, our attitude toward the Turkish people has not changed,” lavrov added, stressing that Moscow would however “seriously reevaluate” its ties with Ankara. “Such attacks are absolutely unacceptable,” he said. lavrov also backed a proposal by French President Francois Hollande to close off the Syrian-Turkish border to prevent fighters from flooding into Syria.