Violations of Turkish airspace by Russian fighter planes deployed in Syria have raised alarm bells in Turkey, prompting NATO to issue a warning against Russia.
On Tuesday, the Turkish military issued a statement saying that a squadron of F-16 jets on patrol duty on Monday were radar-locked by a Russia-made MIG-29 over the Turkish-Syrian border, Xinhua reported.
The incident followed Russia's violations for twice of Turkish airspace over the weekend.
A Su-30 bomber crossed the Syrian-Turkish border for a few seconds on Saturday. Russia said the incursion was a mistake due to unfavourable weather conditions, adding that other alleged violations are under investigation.
NATO, however, said the Russian violation appeared to be deliberate.
On Tuesday, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg called the airspace violation unacceptable. "It doesn't look like an accident, and we've seen two of them over the weekend," said Stoltenberg.
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NATO defence ministers will be meeting in Brussels on Thursday to talk about NATO measures to respond to Russian actions in a member country.
"Both Russia and Turkey should be cautious in their moves and work to defuse the tension," Serkan Demirtas, a Turkish analyst, said.
Stressing that Syria has turned into a dangerous battlefield between the US-led coalition and the Russian camp, he said: "Any unwanted, unintentional development could lead to serious consequences that will surely have enormous effects on Turkey as well."
Turkey shares an approximately 900-km-long border with Syria.