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RUSSIA vowed yesterday to counter Turkish attacks on its forces in Syria, calling Tuesday’s downing of an Su-24 jet a “pre-planned provocation.”
Foreign Minster Sergey Lavrov said: “We have serious doubts that this act was unintentional.”
Earlier, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev called Nato-member Turkey’s actions a “de facto protection of Islamic State” and a “dangerous escalation of [tensions] between Russia and Nato.”
MARK HAZELDEN criticises the Western narrative that the incident was an escalation of Russia’s confrontation with the West, given that Belarus, a Russian ally, warned Poland of off-course drones, and the drones were unarmed, cheap wooden decoys
While Trump praises the ‘successful’ attack on Iranian nuclear sites, the question arises as to the real motives behind this escalation. MARC VANDEPITTE explores the issues