One Jet Closer to a Wider Confrontation

Editorial Board / New York Times | 25 November 2015

Credit Selman Design

Turkey’s downing of a Russian fighter jet on Tuesday is just the kind of volatile incident that has been feared since Moscow’s military intervention added new uncertainty to the already complicated Syrian civil war. The attack adds to tensions between Ankara and Moscow, which support different factions in Syria, and threatens to worsen relations between Russia and Turkey’s NATO allies, which have been going downhill since Russia invaded Ukraine.

 

President Vladimir Putin of Russia said the downing would have “serious consequences for Russian-Turkish relations.” He did not spell out what he meant, but the situation cannot be allowed to escalate. The only winner in a confrontation between Russia and the West is the Islamic State, the terrorist organization that controls large parts of Syria and Iraq.

A video shows the Russian jet being hit before crashing in a mountainous region near the Turkish-Syrian border. Mr. Putin announced that the Russian plane had been hit by an air-to-air missile launched from a Turkish F-16. A Turkish official told The Times that the Russian plane was “repeatedly warned” it was 15 kilometers or less from the Turkish border.

Mr. Putin insisted the jet was in Syrian airspace when it was hit and never threatened Turkish territory. Although the incident is still officially under investigation, an American official told The Times it appears that at least one Russian jet crossed into Turkish airspace.

Jets flying at high speeds can move from one airspace to another in the blink of an eye. Even so, Russia should have been aware of the risk of flying near or over the border. Turkey has a right to defend itself, but it could have chosen to escort the Russian jet out of its airspace rather than firing on it. Since Russia intervened militarily in the Syrian war in late September, its jets have intruded on Turkish airspace at least twice before, drawing Turkish warnings.

President Obama has urged both Ankara and Moscow to avoid confrontations. American officials say they are trying behind the scenes to make that happen. Turkey could play a constructive role by helping the Russians recover their aircraft and pilots, whose fate is unclear.

 

When Russia first intervened in Syria, it worked with the Americans on rules of engagement to reduce the chance of accidental confrontations in the heavily trafficked Syrian skies. Since October, Turkey has conducted five meetings with Russian officials on airspace violations. It’s time for a better approach, like having NATO and Russia tighten the rules of engagement to better avoid incidents like the one on Tuesday.

The incident came at an awkward time. President François Hollande of France and Mr. Obama have been trying to persuade Mr. Putin to accept a political deal that would eventually remove Russia’s ally, President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, from power and make defeating the Islamic State the priority. Achieving this objective has not been made any easier by the downing of the jet and the inflamed tensions between Russia and Turkey — which itself is so eager to see Mr. Assad gone that it has allowed its border to be a crossing point for the rebels who oppose him.