Turkey Will not Apologize to Russia Over Downed Jet: Erdogan

The surviving crew member of the Russian bomber downed by Turkey said the plane had not entered Turkish territory, adding that it had received no warnings from Turkey before it was shot down.

Russia's announcement it is deploying its most hi-tech air defense system to its base in Syria is raising "significant concerns" for the United States military, a USA official said Wednesday.

Missiles have been fired from Russian warships in the Mediterranean and fighters jets have also been launching raids in Syria's Latakia province.

Two groups that track the war - the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the Local Coordination Committees - say the airstrikes hit the highway linking the border town of Azaz with the Bab al-Salameh border crossing with Turkey.

On Thursday, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev ordered to draft formal sanctions against Turkey within the next two days, which will include "restrictions and bans on Turkish economic structures operating in Russian territory, restrictions and bans on deliveries of products, including foodstuffs", as well as on labor and services.

"For us, Turkey was not just a neighbor, but a friendly state, nearly an ally", he said.

The audio that was released only involved Turkish warnings, no replies by a Russian pilot.

Erdogan said Turkey was the country leading the most serious fight against the IS group, saying it had detained thousands of militants over the past few years.

Economy Minister Alexei Ulyukayev said Moscow could put limits on flights to and from Turkey, halt preparations for a joint free trade zone, and restrict high-profile projects including the TurkStream gas pipeline and a $20 billion nuclear power plant Russian Federation is building in Turkey. Since Russia began bombing in Syria, its fighter jets have reportedly strayed into Turkish airspace several times - prompting Ankara to repeatedly warn Moscow that it would defend its sovereign airspace.

Capt. Konstantin Murakhtin also said he and his crewmate, who was killed by ground fire after bailing out, heard any Turkish warnings. "We know the locations of Daesh", he said. The Syrian regime's aim, Erdogan told CNN, is to "rid the whole region of the Turkmens, clear that whole area".

But Erdogan denied Ankara was collaborating with IS.

"Every question about the incident has been answered", the general staff said, according to the news agency. Moscow would "seriously reconsider" its relations with Ankara, he said.

Even as Erdogan has insisted Turkey doesn't want to escalate the situation, the anger in his words - and in Putin's - demonstrate how the conflict in Syria has stoked a new wave of global turbulence.