US Shared Su-24 Flight Data With Turkey: Russia Claims

Russia has accused the US of sharing flight data with Turkey of the Su-24 aircraft that was brought down on November 24 claiming to have been flying in Turkish airspace.

The Russian Defense Ministry spokesperson Igor Konashenkov said on Wednesday that the Turkish official statement that was published in local media was a clear indication of treachery by the US. He said that the US transferred all the information Moscow shared with them within the framework of the memorandum.

"This confirms the fact that all information, which we transfer to the American side within the framework of the memorandum, has surely been handed over by the U.S. Air Force command to Turkey’s General Staff," Konashenkov was quoted as saying by local Russian media.

"Thus, on November 24, when a Turkish fighter jet treacherously attacked our Su-24 bomber with a missile, Turkey’s General Staff was well aware of the time and the area where a pair of Russian bombers would carry out a combat task," he said.

The Turkish official’s statement "may be regarded as a formal acknowledgement by Turkey of the pre-planned operation to destroy the Russian aircraft in the sky over Syria and kill the Russian military servicemen," Konashenkov said.

A Russian Su-24M bomber was shot down by a Turkish F-16 fighter jet over Turkey-Syrian border on November 24. The Turkish MoD had said that the plane had violated Turkish airspace, a claim denied by Russia whose foreign ministry said that the jet was well within Syrian airspace when it was shot down.