U.S. 'greatly concerned' by Russia incursion of Turkey airspace: Kerry
By Lesley Wroughton VALPARAISO, Chile (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Monday the United States was "greatly concerned" about the incursion by a Russian plane into Turkish airspace over the weekend. He said his Turkish counterpart called him about the incident, which Kerry discussed with Defense Secretary Ash Carter and Susan Rice, the White House national security adviser. "We are greatly concerned about it because it is precisely the kind of thing that, had Turkey responded ... it could have resulted in a shoot down, and it is precisely the kind of thing we warned against," Kerry said during a visit to Chile. He said he had since intensified diplomatic discussions "and we will see very quickly if this can be defused." Kerry said Russia had a fundamental responsibility to act in accordance with international standards. Kerry also said it was now clear that Russia's motives were broader than just fighting Islamic State militants in Syria. He said Russia should communicate clearly to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad what was expected of him in a political transition. Turkey, which has the second-largest army in NATO, scrambled two F-16 jets on Saturday after a Russian aircraft crossed into its airspace near its southern province of Hatay, the Turkish foreign ministry said. {ID:nL8N1251B2] Moscow's unexpected move last week to launch air strikes in Syria has brought the greatest threat of an accidental clash between Russian and Western forces since the Cold War. Kerry also called for calm amid escalating violence in Jerusalem, saying it was "unacceptable on either side to have violence resorted to as a solution." "I would caution everybody to be calm, not to escalate the situation, to deal with this in a way that can find a quick way back to the full restoration of the status quo," Kerry said in answer to a question. "It is very important to maintain a sense of calm that will minimize the instinct for escalation," he added. "That kind of violence is not going to serve anybody's purpose." (Reporting by Lesley Wroughton; Editing by Doina Chiacu)
