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Turkey Orders Military To Shoot Down All Russian Aircraft, Tensions Mount

Turkey have ordered Turkish Air Forces to be ready to shoot down any Russian aircraft on sight, following claims that a Russian Su-34 warplane violated Turkish airspace on Friday.  Turkey have raised the alert level for the Air Force to the “orange warning”, which authorises pilots to shoot down any aircraft they feel is causing an airspace violation. Another downing of a Russian airplane in the region could the military tension between the two nations escalate to dangerous levels. Xinhuanet.com reports: Many F-16 jets are dispatched to an air base in Diyarbakir province in southeastern Turkey, according to the report. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday warned Russia of “consequences” if it continues to violate Turkish airspace. “If Russia continues to violate Turkey’s sovereignty, it will have to face the consequences,” Erdogan told reporters in Istanbul before leaving for a visit to Chile. He blamed Russia for acting “irresponsibly” and escalating the tension in the region, while emphasizing that the issue was closely followed by NATO. “These kinds of irresponsible acts not only damage NATO-Russian relations but also the regional and global peace,” the president stressed, as his country is a NATO member. Erdogan said that he hoped to meet Russian [...]