Russia blames weather for violating Turkish airspace

 The Russian Defense Ministry is blaming bad weather conditions for the brief violation of Turkish airspace by a Russian aircraft.

The ministry said a Russian SU-30 military aircraft crossed the Syrian border into Turkish airspace after completing a planned combat flight. The plane was maneuvering over a mountainous and wooded area before returning to Syria's Hmaimim airbase, located about 30 kilometers from the Syrian-Turkish border.

Ankara said the Russian ambassador in Turkey was summoned by the Turkish Foreign Ministry on Monday. Turkish Foreign Minister Feridun Sinirlioglu lodged a formal complaint during a phone call with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.

NATO has condemned Russia for the violation and ambassadors from the 28 NATO member states held an emergency meeting in Brussels on Monday.

The Russian Defense Ministry said necessary measures were taken to prevent similar cases from happening in the future, while Turkey said Moscow would be blamed for any further escalation.