A Russian warship on Sunday fired warning shots at a Turkish fishing vessel in the Aegean Sea, reportedly to avoid a collision. The Russian Defense Ministry stated that the Turkish boat did not respond to calls from the warship and was sailing on a collision course towards the ship. The incident took place around 12 nautical miles from the Greek island Lemnos. The captain of the Turkish boat said he was unaware that the boat had been shot at. Moscow has called for a meeting with the Turkish attaché over the incident. “We have always been in favour of overcoming tensions through dialogue rather than conflict,” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said.

Relations between the two countries have been strained since Turkey shot down a Russian warplane on November 24, saying it entered Turkish airspace and ignored several warnings.