ANKARA, Turkey \u2014 Russia is seen widely abusing a crisis with Turkey over the shooting down of a Russian SU-24 jet in order to augment its military presence in eastern Mediterranean and Syria, Turkish and Western officials say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They say NATO will reciprocate to <\/span>Russia’s military moves in the area already contested by multiple conflicts, including a civil war in Syria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “We will not let Russia make the game in that region. They are explicitly abusing the incident,” said one European Union ambassador in Ankara.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Two Turkish F-16 fighter aircraft “intercepted” and shot down a Russian SU-24 jet Nov. 24 near Turkey’s Syrian border. Turkish military general staff said that the intervention came after the Russian jet violated the <\/span>Turkish airspace and was warned 10 times within five minutes. It said the Russian aircraft failed to heed the warnings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was the first time a NATO member has downed a Russian or Soviet military aircraft since the 1950s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n