Obama calls Turkish president to discuss downing of Russian warplane

by Jordan Fabian - 11/24/15 8:30 PM ET

President Obama and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan agreed on the need to reduce tensions after Turkish jets shot down a Russian warplane flying near the country’s border with Syria, the White House said Tuesday.

Obama voiced support “for Turkey’s right to defend its sovereignty” during a phone call with Erdoğan, according to a White House statement.

{mosads}”The leaders agreed on the importance of de-escalating the situation and pursuing arrangements to ensure that such incidents do not happen again,” the White House added.

U.S. and NATO officials said Tuesday the Russian jet entered Turkish airspace, according to The Associated Press.

The incident angered Russia, which claimed the plane did not cross the border from Syria into Turkey.

Russian President Vladimir Putin called the downing of the plane a “stab in the back” and accused Turkey of abetting terrorism.

Russia and Turkey, a NATO ally of the U.S., are already at odds over the fate of Syrian President Bashar Assad, a Kremlin ally.

Moscow began a military intervention in Syria in September to shore up Assad, who is battling rebels backed by Ankara and Washington.

The incident also cast a shadow over Tuesday’s meeting between Obama and French President François Hollande, who is hoping for closer collaboration between U.S. and Russia over fighting the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in response to the Paris terror attacks.

Obama met with with his National Security Council on Tuesday to discuss ways to accelerate the fight against ISIS.

The White House said Obama’s advisers told him “there is currently no specific, credible threat to the homeland from ISIS.”

Tags Barack Obama Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Russia Syria Turkey