Turkey shot down the Russian plane on Tuesday, claiming that it violated the country`s airspace. Melechon is a leftist delegate in the European Parliament, who is also a former Minister in Jaques Chirac`s government.
"The Turkish government is playing a very dirty game. Friday and Saturday, Turkish bombings against the [Kurdish Workers` Party (PKK)] of Kurdistan have resumed. Now, a Russian plane has been shot down," Melechon wrote on his Facebook
According to Melechon, the Turkish actions constitute a provocation against the forming anti-ISIL coalition.
"What was this Russian plane doing? It was hitting our Daesh [ISIL] enemies! What threat did this plane present for Turkey? None. So it is a provocation of the Turkish government in order to break the coalition as it forms. The Turkish government is a very keen backstabber," Melechon added.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said earlier that Russia would consider French President Francois Hollande`s proposal to close the Turkish-Syrian border to prevent the traffic of arms, fighters and funding to regions of Syria controlled by ISIL and other terrorist forces.
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