Russian jet shooting shows chaos in Syrian airspace: MPs

Dutch foreign minister Bert Koenders has described the shooting down of a Russian fighter jet by Turkey as a ‘serious matter’.

Koenders, who is currently in Ukraine, used Twitter to say that the incident with the fighter jet is a ‘severe [serious] situation’ and that it is ‘important to ascertain the exact cause’.

Trade minister Liliane Ploumen, who is standing in for Koenders while he is away, said in answer to MPs questions that Turkey claims to have warned the plane 10 times in five minutes. ‘The cabinet has no more facts at its disposal,’ Ploumen said.

An emergency meeting of Nato this afternoon will hopefully ‘de-escalate’ the incident, she said.

Dutch MPs who oppose the drive to get the Netherlands to take part in bombing raids in Syria say the incident shows the ‘chaos and confusion in the air space’, broadcaster Nos reports.

A narrow majority of MPs support direct bombing but the ruling Labour party and D66 opposition are opposed. The ruling VVD also has doubts because of the lack of coordination in the air.

Dutch defence minister Jeanine Hennis was in the US on Monday to talk about the Dutch role in Syria but has refused to go into details about the talks, broadcaster Nos says.