Foreign relations of Russia

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has described the incident with a Russian warplane at the Turkish-Syrian border as a "planned provocation".

A day earlier, hours after the incident occurred, Lavrov canceled a visit to Turkey that had been scheduled for Wednesday.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavu?o?lu called his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on Nov. 25 "to express his sorrow" over the downing of a Russian jet by Turkey near the Syrian border.

The Turkish foreign minister expressed "his sincere condolences," Lavrov told reporters at a press conference in Moscow. "But the Turkish minister tried to excuse the incident," Lavrov added.

Russian nationals staying in Turkey may be facing serious danger, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said, a day after Turkey downed a Russian Su-24 fighter jet on its border with Syria due to an alleged airspace violation.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has cancelled his visit to Turkey scheduled for Wednesday following the downing of a Russian warplane by a Turkish Air Force jet.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said yesterday that he canceled his planned visit to Turkey Nov. 25 after Turkish fighter jets downed a Russian warplane and also recommended Russians travelling to Turkey to suspend their plans. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has said it is too early to speculate about what caused the crash of a Russian Su-24 at the Syrian-Turkish border, local media report.

Russia said on Nov. 18 that following the carnage in Paris it was now clear that global powers should unite without any preconditions on the fate of Syria's embattled leader Bashar al-Assad.

Top diplomats from Russia, the US, Saudi Arabia and Turkey fail to make any major breakthrough on how to end the Syrian conflictTop diplomats from Russia, the U.S., Saudi Arabia and Turkey on Oct. 23 failed to make any major breakthrough on how to end the Syrian conflict, with the sides sharply at odds on the future of Bashar al-Assad.

Turkish Foreign Minister Feridun Sinirlio?lu flew to Vienna on Oct. 22 in order to take part in a key summit on Syria on Oct. 23, which will be attended by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. 

Sinirlio?lu met with Austrian President Heinz Fischer on the first day of his visit. 

The White House issued a scathing attack on Russia's "red carpet" welcome for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Oct. 21, accusing Moscow of impeding progress towards a political transition by propping up the strongman.