A week after Turkish warplanes shot down a Russian bomber over Syrian airspace, NATO has announced a plan to deploy yet more warplanes and anti-aircraft missiles in southern Turkey, adding to tensions with Russia along the Syria-Turkey border.
NATO officials suggested the move was designed to “reassure” Turkey, and to fill the gap after Germany and the US removed Patriot missile batteries from the area. Lithuanian FM Linas Likevicius said the deployment was vital to “counter threats” to Turkey.
Yet Turkey doesn’t appear to be at threat from any aircraft at this point, and the move seems designed purely to needle Russia, which has itself been adding to air defenses in northwestern Syria, and has announced its intention to escort bomber along the border to ensure Turkey doesn’t take any more shots at them.
German FM Frank-Walter Steinmeier is calling for a special NATO meeting with Russia, though the Baltic nations seem eager to make the deployment more directly confrontational. Britain has pledged interceptor jets to the deployment, once plans are finalized.
Do they come to make peace in Syria or or show off their weapons?
How peace can achieve if USA and Allies wants to see Bashar Asad leaves the power,
but Russia wanted to see Bashar Asad continue this rules Syria? Turkemen / Turkish origin people opposed to Asad,According the Rusia this people are terrorist to.
Putin should be made to understanding that he canot mess with NATO
Did anyone surprised that Turkey shot down Russian fighter Jett? I am not.
Would there be accidentally on purpose Russia not to loose face to shot down Turkish fighter jets or French / USA / fighter jets?
Putin were very upset and disappointed with the Soviet Union collapsed.
Now he wants to show that Rusia is up to it what Sovyets were doing?
Another Cuban ( Turkish ) missile crisis on the making?
Soon British will be sending Fighter Jets.
Putin took huge risk interfering Syria.
He shouldn’t allowed to win this war by keeping Bashar Asad. If he wins he will carry on to be UNITED RUSSIAN UNION then new come war will start.
It is not anymore about Bashar Asad, its about NATO against RUSSIA.
God help us all
it should be pointed out that, actually, Putin is not "messing with NATO", but assisting a long-standing ally in an internal civil war. NATO, on the other hand, brings troops and planes wherever it wants, without consulting any government. If "messing" means "getting in the way while we're busy supporting an insurrection", then you are right.
Nato will help Turkey the way they helped ukes
All politicians in the west, when referring to the downing of the Russian plane say words to the effect, we support Turkey's right to defend itself. I agree with that. I believe Russia also agrees with that. But their words do not address the issue at hand, which is not Turkeys right to defend itself , but Turkeys assumed right to be an aggressor and attack other nations outside of Turkey. They do not address the issue, give an irrelevent answer and look smug.
Their actions say that they know Turkey is in the wrong, It suggests they are in on Turkey's actions, and it suggests that they are needling Russia to escalate this into a larger conflict as that may be their only way to win in Syria.
They are all back-stabbing hypocrites with no shame or self-respect.
In fact, Turkey isn't in the wrong. It was not required to wait and see if they were going to be attacked before shooting down a plane that, according to the laws of aerodynamics, couldn't avoid entering their airspace. They weren't even required to give a warning. They were entitled to assume that the Russian pilot was competent enough to know where he was going and was following orders. In fact, he seems to have deviated from his flight plan, taking a short cut accross Turkish territory. That sort of sloppiness is typical of the Russian military and goes all the way back to the Tsars' time.
Putin has sent tons of anti-aircraft hardware to Syria and is providing fighter escort for his bombers. Neither the anti-Assad forces he's fighting nor ISIS have aircraft, so it's hard to regard that as anything other than a threat to Turkey. The idea is, most certainly, to needle Putin. European populists can never resist the temptation to thumb their noses at people they don't like and the hope may be that he'll engage in "one-up-manship", raising the ante still further. That way, he bogs himself down even more. In addition, the Soviet Union was brought down by an unwinnable guerilla war and an unaffordable arms race. Pushing Putin as deeply as possible into both can only be helpful.
What a bunch of hypocrites. When Israel slaughtered 9 people on the Turkish Flotilla in international waters, didn’t see NATO move a finger to beef up security in Turkey against the apartheid state of Israel.
Russian reply: caviar & vodka