Syria and Ria Novosti

Russian state news: Igor Konashenkov was quoted by Russian state news agency Ria Novosti as saying Moscow believes some activity on the Turkish side of the border with Syria indicates preparations for an incursion. "The signs of hidden preparation of Turkish armed forces for activities in the territory of Syria we notice more and more," the general said, according to CNN. When asked about the Russian claim at a media briefing, John Kirby, a spokesman for the U.S. State Department, said: "I'm not certainly not going to get up here and speak to what the Turks are doing on that border on any given day." Read More "We continue to work with Turkey, who is an important partner in this coalition to try to go after inside Syria."Russia openly joined the civil war in September, backing the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad with airstrikes. Gen. Russia lost one plane and one of its pilots in November when a Turkish F-16 shot the jet down. After the shootdown, Russia imposed a series of economic sanctions on Turkey, banning the import of some goods, imposing restrictions on travel, barring some Turkish companies from doing business in Russia and suspending a $12 billion gas pipeline project between the nations. The two nations have argued over whether the warplane was over Turkey or Syria. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.