Obama, Erdogan discuss downing of Russian aircraft, need to de-escalate

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan spoke by phone on Tuesday about the need to de-escalate tensions with Russia after Turkey shot down a Russian warplane near the Turkish-Syrian border, the White House said. Obama expressed "U.S. and NATO support for Turkey's right to defend its sovereignty," the White House said in a statement. "The leaders agreed on the importance of de-escalating the situation and pursuing arrangements to ensure that such incidents do not happen again," the statement said. (Reporting by Roberta Rampton; Editing by Eric Walsh)