President Obama called on Russia and Turkey to take steps to halt any military escalation after Turkey shot down a Russian warplane that allegedly entered its airspace Tuesday.
“Turkey–like every country–has a right to defend its country and its air space. I think it is very important right now that both the Russians and the Turks are talking to each other,” Obama said at a White House press conference with French President François Hollande. Obama added that his “top priority” is ensuring “this does not escalate.”
“Hopefully this is a moment where all parties can step back and make a determination as to how their interests are best served,” Obama said, noting that Russia must remember it lost several hundred citizens when ISIL bombed a passenger plane.
Obama said that the incident was a clear example of how Russia’s allegiance to the Assad regime in Syria is interfering with the broader coalition’s attempts to take down ISIL.
“The sooner we agree to this political process, the less likely you have the kind of events that took place, apparently today,” Obama said.
