Russia Will Continue Anti-ISIL Airstrikes in Syria Near Turkish Border: Kremlin
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Russia will continue air strikes against Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) targets located in Syria near the Turkish border, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday.
"We would like for the terrorists and militants to keep further away from the Turkish border, but unfortunately they tend to be situated on the Syrian territory close to the Turkish border," Peskov told journalists on a conference call.
"(Russia's) operations will continue without doubt," he added, despite the SU-24 fighter jet being shot down on the Turkey-Syria border, Reuters reported.
Turkey shot down a Russian warplane near the Syrian border on Tuesday, claiming the jet had violated its air space, in one of the most serious publicly acknowledged clashes between a NATO member country and Russia for half a century.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said the plane had been attacked when it was 1 km (0.62 mile) inside Syria and warned of "serious consequences" for what he termed a stab in the back administered by "the accomplices of terrorists".