“NATO warned Russia to stay away from Turkey on Monday after the Turkish air force intercepted a Russian warplane that strayed into its airspace from Syria,” The Washington Post reports, “underscoring the heightened risk of a wider conflagration as Russia escalates its intervention in the Syrian conflict.”  

“Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said the Russian ambassador had informed him that the incident was a mistake, but it nonetheless contributed to the sense that Moscow’s intervention in Syria had added a dangerously unpredictable new dimension to the war… U.S. officials called the Turkish airspace violation a deliberate provocation and the kind of unpredictable act they have worried about since Russia began its military buildup in Syria last month.”  

“The incident in Turkey’s airspace occurred as Russian warplanes were bombing a cluster of opposition-held villages in the northern coastal province of Latakia, not far from where Turkish jets shot down a Syrian plane last year. Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that a Russian fighter aircraft entered Turkish airspace near the border town of Yayladagi shortly after noon Saturday, then exited five minutes later after it was escorted out of the area by two Turkish F-16s.”