The Turkish army has released a series of audio recordings of apparent warnings issued to a Russian jet before it was downed near the Syrian border.

"This is Turkish Air Force speaking on guard. You are approaching Turkish airspace. Change your heading south immediately," a voice in one of the recordings can be heard saying.

Despite this, the surviving pilot of the Russian plane shot down by Turkey on the Syrian border claims no warning was given.

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Captain Konstantin Murakhtin said Turkish jets did not issue any visual or radio warnings.

Captain Konstantin Murakhtin told Russian media there was "no way" the jet could have violated Turkish airspace, as Turkey said it did.

Russia said Captain Murakhtin was rescued in a 12-hour operation.

Turkey claims the pilots were warned 10 times before the plane was shot down.

It’s not yet known what happened to the body of his co-pilot, who was killed by gunfire as he parachuted from the plane.

Captain Murakhtin said he knew the region "very well" and that the jet was not in Turkish airspace "even for a second".

EARLIER: In a move raising the potential threat of a Russia-NATO conflict, Russia says it will deploy long-range air defense missiles to its base in Syria and destroy any target that may threaten its warplanes following the downing of a Russian military jet by Turkey.

The incident, the first time in half a century a NATO member shot down a Russian plane, may put Moscow and the alliance on the verge of a direct conflict. If Russia shoots down a Turkish plane, Turkey, a NATO member, could proclaim itself under attack and ask the alliance for military assistance





The situation is even more alarming as Russian and Turkish presidents are strong leaders reluctant to back down and seek a compromise. Most observers believe that while a direct military confrontation will be unlikely, the shooting down of the plane will further fuel the Syrian conflict and complicate international peace efforts.

The S-400 missiles, which Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered to be sent to the Hemeimeem air base in Syria’s coastal province of Latakia just 50 kilometers (30 miles) away from the border with Turkey, are capable of striking targets within 400-kilometer (250-mile) range with a deadly precision. The military also moved the navy missile cruiser Moskva closer to the shore to help protect Russian warplanes with its long-range Fort air defense system.

“It will be ready to destroy any aerial target posing a potential danger to our aircraft,” Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said at a meeting with military officials. He added that from now on Russian bombers will always be escorted by fighters on combat missions over Syria, and announced the severance of all military ties with Turkey.

Ozgur Unluhisarcikli, director of the German Marshall Fund in Ankara, said the downing of a Turkish plane by Russia is also a possibility.

“Turkish planes violate the Syrian border daily, either for reconnaissance flights or for anti-IS operations,” he said. “In the same way that Turkey argues it has rules of engagement, Russia could also declare its own rules of engagement saying it has right to protect the skies of its ally.”

The Russian plane’s downing marked a dramatic turnaround in relations between Russia and Turkey, who have proclaimed one another “strategic partners” in the past and developed booming economic ties despite differences over Syria.

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