Russia's Defense Ministry has again rejected claims by Ankara that a Russian warplane violated Turkish airspace.

Ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov said on February 1 that Ankara's claims are not backed by any factual data and are a "premeditated provocation."

Turkey says NATO radars detected a Russian jet violating Turkish airspace on January 29, refuting Russian claims that the violation was "pure propaganda."

Ankara said a Russian Su-34 jet had violated its airspace despite warnings, two months after Turkey shot down a Russian warplane in a similar incident that escalated tensions between the two countries.

Russia had denied that there had been any incursion.

"Russia cannot cover up its violation of our airspace. It's not possible to hide such an incident if it did happen, or to make up a violation if it didn't happen," Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, on January 31.

Konashenkov said Russia's military has video provided by Syria's armed forces and a Syrian opposition group that shows "a Turkish artillery battery shelling a Syrian frontier village."

The statement also said Russia's Defense Ministry was awaiting a prompt explanation from NATO, the Pentagon, and the Turkish armed forces on the shelling incident.

Turkish forces have shelled areas of Iraq several times in recent years where it says members of the rebel Kurdistan Workers Party are hiding.

Based on reporting by Reuters, RIA, and Interfax



