Turkey shoots down Russian fighter jet near Syrian border

TURKEY has shot down a Russian fighter jet near its border with Syria, the Kremlin has confirmed.

Turkey said the jet was warned 10 times in the space of five minutes before it was shot down.

Television footage released by Turkey's state-run Anadolu news agency appeared to show two pilots parachuting out of a jet downed near the Turkish-Syrian border.

Turkish F-16 fighter jets shot down the war plane, a Russian-made SU-24.

Turkey called this week for a U.N. Security Council meeting to discuss attacks on Turkmens in neighbouring Syria, and last week Ankara summoned the Russian ambassador to protest the bombing of their villages.

Ankara has traditionally expressed solidarity with Syrian Turkmens, who are Syrians of Turkish descent.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has spoken with the chief of military staff and the foreign minister about the developments on the Syrian border, the prime minister's office said in a statement, without mentioning the downed jet.

He has ordered the foreign ministry to consult with NATO, the United Nations and related countries on the latest developments, his office said.