Russia’s Ministry of Defense: A recent statement by a Turkish official revealing detailed awareness of Russian Air Force sorties in Syria can be regarded as “official acknowledgment” that the operation to down the Su-24 was a planned step.
“When on November 24 the Turkish fighter jet treacherously fired a rocket at our Su-24, the Turkish General Staff was perfectly aware about when and where our two bombers would be carrying out their mission,” Major General Igor Konashenkov told journalists on Wednesday.
The statement made by Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus “can be regarded as an official acknowledgment by Turkey that the operation to destroy the Russian jet in Syria and kill Russian soldiers was a planned step,” he stated.
This also confirms that all intelligence given to the US under the memorandum signed between the two countries and regulating the operations of the two countries’ air forces in Syria was passed to the Turkish General Staff, he added.