Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said that Turkey's downing of the Sukhoi Su-24 bomber could have been an attempt to disrupt the Syrian political settlement process launched in Vienna, Tass reported on its website.

"It’s difficult to get rid of the impression that somebody wanted to disrupt the political process that was launched in Vienna within the Syrian Support Group and to help the Islamists prevail both in Syria and the region," Lavrov said after talks with his Cypriot counterpart in Nicosia.

Lavrov added that Russia values "the solidarity of Cyprus in connection with the actions of Turkey that for no good reason downed Russia’s bomber that was on an anti-terrorist mission."

Sources: MENA