Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday condemned the gunning down of his country’s warplane by Turkey on the Syrian border, saying it was “a stab in the back by the associates of terrorism”. He said that the Russian jet was shot down on Syrian territory and four kilometers from the Turkish border, adding that the incident will have significant consequences for Russia-Turkey relations.

A Kremlin spokesperson had earlier said, "It is a very serious incident. It would be wrong to make some assessments, proposals or announcement when we don't have the full picture." AFP reported that Nato has called for an emergency meeting following the incident on Turkey's request. It also said that one of the pilots of the jet is dead, while the other is missing.

Turkey said earlier that it had shot down a military plane that allegedly violated its airspace on Tuesday morning. The Turkish military said in a statement that the plane was only shot down after being warned, reported Reuters. Moscow later confirmed that the plane shot down was Russian, but stated that the jet was in Syrian airspace. The Guardian said the plane was a Russian-made SU-24.

Turkish media released footage of the plane being shot down: