YEREVAN. Nov 26 (Interfax) - The incident with the Russian Sukhoi Su-24 bomber downed by the Turkish Air Force is a blow to he international counterterrorism efforts, Armenian Defense Minister Seiran Oganian said.
"The attention of the international community is focused on the event that has occurred in Syria. Now that the efforts of the international community are aimed and focused on the fight against terrorism, that [the destruction of the plane] was a blow to these efforts," Oganian said at a press conference he gave jointly with Serb Defense Minister Bratislav Gasic in Yerevan on Wednesday.
He said Armenia's position on the downed plane is reflected in the fact of strategic partnership with Russia."
Responding to a question as to whether the Armenian air defense forces will e put on high alert, bearing in mind that the Armenian-Turkish border is protected by Russian border guards, Oganian said the Armenian and Russia military are working in accordance with "a unified operative and combat plan."
"We conduct joint activities in accordance with this plan. The participation by the Russian military base sums up security issues. We are working in accordance with the relevant plan," the Armenian defense minister said.