Russia denies claims it violated Turkish airspace as Ankara demands Putin talks

The accusation has been vehemantly denied by Moscow, with the defence ministry rubbishing the claims, dismissing them as "pure propaganda". 

Today's war of words comes after a Russian jet was shot down on November 24 after Turkey said it encroached into its air space.

Moscow claimed it had not, and Mr Putin has also accused Turkey of profiting from smuggling ISIS oil through the country, which Turkish leader Recep Erdogan said was "slander".

Ever since then the two countries have been trading insults and accusations at each other.

Ankara has now summoned the Russian ambassador to the ministry to "strongly protest" the violation.

The Turkish statement did not say where the infringement occurred.

"This violation is a concrete indication of Russian's acts aiming to escalate problems, despite the clear warning by our country and by NATO," the statement read.

"We openly and clearly call on Russia to act responsibly so that the Turkish air space, which is a NATO airspace, is not violated.

"We emphasize once again the fact that Russia will be held responsible for any dire consequences which can emerge from such irresponsible acts."

There was no immediate comment on the incident from Moscow.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said he wants to meet his Russian counterpart after the incident, with the pair not having come together since the November downing.

Mr Erdogan said" "I told our foreign ministry to convey my desire to meet Mr Putin personally. There has been no answer on this yet."

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg confirmed the violation and urged Russia to "take all necessary measures" to ensure there is no repeat.

He said: "A Russian combat aircraft violated Turkish airspace yesterday, despite repeated warnings by the Turkish authorities.

"Previous incidents have shown how dangerous such behaviour is.

"I call on Russia to act responsibly and to fully respect NATO airspace. Russia must take all necessary measures to ensure that such violations do not happen again."

(dailystar.co.uk)