MOSCOW: Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov today said the downing of its fighter jet by Turkey appeared to be a "planned provocation" as the incident heightened tensions between Moscow and Ankara.
"We have serious doubts about this being an unpremeditated act, it really looks like a planned provocation," Lavrov said at a press conference in Moscow.
"We do not plan to go to war with Turkey, our attitude toward the Turkish people has not changed," Lavrov said, after speaking with his Turkish counterpart, but warned that Moscow would "seriously reevaluate" its ties with Ankara.