Turkish Foreign Ministry claimed on Saturday that a Russian Su-34 fighter bomber had violated Turkish airspace on Friday.

According to Turkey, the Russian aircraft was repeatedly warned in Russian and English.

The Russian ambassador to Ankara was summoned to the Turkish foreign ministry and a protest was lodged to him in connection with the incident.

Turkey did not specify the exact location of the alleged violation.

Turkish President Recep Erdogan stated that the violation was a “result of Russian attempts to escalate existing tension in the region”.

The Russian defence ministry dismissed the claim on Saturday.

Russian Defence Ministry spokesperson Igor Konashenkov identified the Turkish claims as “unsubstantiated propaganda”, TASS news agency quotes him as saying.

NATO confirmed the violation, with Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg calling on Russia to act responsibly and respect the airspace of the Alliance.

Turkish foreign ministry contacted Russia to arrange a meeting between Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in order to discuss the incident.

Moscow has not yet responded.

The relations between Russia and Turkey have deteriorated after the downing of Russian Su-24 bomber by Turkish F-16 fighter jets near the Turkish-Syrian border in November last year

Ankara claims that the Russian aircraft violated Turkish airspace, while Moscow maintains that the jet had exclusively stayed within Syrian airspace.

Following the incident, Russia imposed a set of economic sanctions against Turkey including a ban on certain food imports.