Russia warns Turkey about 'provocations' after warship incident

Russia on Sunday warned Turkey to stop staging what it called provocations against its forces in or near Syria after one of its warships fired warning shots at a Turkish vessel in the Aegean to avoid a collision.

The Russian Defense Ministry said one of its warships, the destroyer Smetlivy, had been forced to fire the warning shots on Sunday morning and that it had summoned the Turkish military attache over the incident.

"The Turkish military diplomat was given a tough explanation about the potentially disastrous consequences from Ankara's reckless actions towards Russia's military contingent fighting against international terrorism in Syria," the Defense Ministry said in a statement.

"In particular, our deep concerns about more Turkish provocations towards the Russian destroyer Smetlivy were conveyed."

Earlier on Sunday, the ministry said that the Turkish fishing vessel failed to respond to Smetlivy's warnings and changed course sharply only after shots were fired before passing within just over 500 meters of the warship.

"Only by luck was tragedy avoided," the ministry said.

The incident, which occurred on Sunday morning, is likely to heighten tensions between the two nations who are seriously at odds over Syria and the Turkish shooting down of a Russian military jet last month.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who called the downing of the plane a "stab in the back," has since imposed economic sanctions on Turkey as a retaliatory measure.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, who was in Rome for talks on Libya, said Ankara was investigating the matter and would make a statement once it had more information.

He also reiterated Turkey's position that it wanted to resolve its difficulties with Russia. "We want to solve the tension with dialogue," he said, in comments broadcast by TRT Turk.

Meanwhile, the Turkish army on Sunday banned staff from taking holidays in Russia, state-run media reported.

The prohibition, which applies to both personnel and military academy students, was described as a "precautionary measure after the Russian warplane, which violated [Turkey's] borders, was downed in accordance with the rules of engagement," the Anadolu news agency reported.

Army personnel are expected to behave in a way that is "worthy" of the Turkish military while on vacation, Anadolu added.

Al Jazeera and Reuters