On Sunday, Russia's defense minister said that one of its warships, the destroyer Smetlivy, had fired at a Turkish fishing vessel that had failed to change course after coming within about 1,600 feet of the Russian ship. The incident, amid heightened tensions between Russia and Turkey, occurred in the Aegean Sea about 13 miles north of the Greek island Limnos.
Russia said that it had summoned Turkey's military attaché in Moscow to receive a stern warning about "the potentially disastrous consequences from Ankara's reckless actions toward Russia's military contingent fighting against international terrorism in Syria" generally, and "in particular, our deep concerns about more Turkish provocations toward the Russian destroyer Smetlivy were conveyed." Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, in Rome for talks on Libya, said Ankara couldn't respond until it heard the Turkish boat's side of the story, adding: "We are not on the side of escalating tension, we are on the side of de-escalating tense situations through dialogue."
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