Türkiye is “closely” following Tuesday’s drone crash over the Black Sea, National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on Wednesday.
“As you know, such an incident occurred yesterday. … We are following the event closely. We have various contacts,” Akar told the reporters at the parliament in the capital Ankara.
Türkiye calls for a ‘reasonable resolution’
His remarks came a day after a Russian fighter jet crashed into a US drone in international airspace above the Black Sea.
Türkiye is in favor of a “reasonable resolution” to the incident, Akar added.
A Russian SU-27 fighter jet crashed into a US uncrewed aerial vehicle in international airspace above the Black Sea, causing the American aircraft to crash, the Pentagon said Tuesday.
The incident occurred after the Russian jet, and another SU-27 “conducted an unsafe and unprofessional intercept” of the Reaper, including dumping fuel on the drone and flying in front of it “in a reckless, environmentally unsound and unprofessional manner,” according to the US European Command.
The drone was conducting surveillance when a SU-27 jet struck the propeller of the MQ-9 Reaper at roughly 7.03 a.m. CET (0603GMT) on Tuesday, prompting the drone’s operators to bring it down in international waters.
About a question whether the ships will be allowed to pass through the Turkish Straits, Akar said: “We continue to work with the (Turkish) presidency in close communication with the (Turkish) Foreign Ministry and the Ministry of National Defense. Therefore, we will see the results in the coming period.”