NATO Urges Restraint after Downing of Russian Warplane by Turkey

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called for calm on Tuesday following the downing of a Russian warplane by Turkey.

"Diplomacy and de-escalation are important to resolve this situation," Stoltenberg said in a statement after an extraordinary meeting of the North Atlantic Council in Brussels.

Stoltenberg said that he is looking forward to further contacts between Ankara and Moscow.

"I have previously expressed my concerns about the implications of the military actions of the Russian Federation close to NATO's borders. This highlights the importance of having and respecting arrangements to avoid such incidents in the future," Stoltenberg said.

Russia maintains that its Su-24 fighter bomber was above Syrian territory on Tuesday when it was hit by a missile fired from a Turkish F-16 fighter jet. According to the Turkish military, the Russian warplane had violated Turkey's airspace close to the border with Syria and had ignored 10 warnings to leave issued in the space of five minutes.