World War III is trending on Twitter today following the shooting down of the Russian Su-24 warplane in Syria by Turkey today.
As the world waits to see what Russia’s response will be to the “act of war” (as Russian President Vladimir Putin referred to it), NATO are holding an “extraordinary meeting” at the time of writing this to discuss the incident.
Putin said Russia would not “tolerate such atrocities” and has asked for the international community to stand alongside Russia in its fight against terror.
Meanwhile, U.S. president Barack Obama has said that the U.S. stands firmly by Turkey’s side, and have threatened Russia that they need to “re-think their strategy in Syria”.
Ibtimes.com reports:
Russian officials said their warplane never entered Turkey’s airspace.
Can we please hold off on #WWIII till after #thanksgiving I’m cooking for 18 ppl. Thanks in advance for your cooperation.
— Foxy Brown (@foxybrown0) November 24, 2015
Everyone seems strangely pumped about WWIII. — Heather Wilhelm (@heatherwilhelm) November 24, 2015
WWIII, escalating. RT “Putin: Downing Of Jet A ‘Stab In The Back'” https://t.co/KwkuDqxDC2
— Monica Crowley (@MonicaCrowley) November 24, 2015
Hey guys this is not World War III. Neither NATO nor Russia cares that much about Syria-Turkey border zone air rights. — Max Fisher (@Max_Fisher) November 24, 2015
For your “WWIII is coming” pieces: Turkey imports more from Russia than any other country (mostly due to gas). pic.twitter.com/XLo6E4tgQW
— Zeynep Tufekci (@zeynep) November 24, 2015
Thanks @MaajidNawaz Former Extremist: We’re Not Facing WWIII, We’re Facing ‘Global #Jihadist … https://t.co/HZ7mybeFb4 via @YouTube — Afshine Emrani M.D. (@afshineemrani) November 24, 2015
The diplomatic fallout was already beginning to show Tuesday when Russia’s foreign minister canceled plans to visit Turkey Wednesday. Putin said Russia would refuse to “tolerate such atrocities” and called for the international community to stand along with Russia in its fight against terror.
President Barack Obama said at the White House Tuesday that he hoped Russia and Turkey could prevent an escalation of tensions. “My top priority is going to be to ensure that this does not escalate and hopefully this is a moment in which all parties can step back and make a determination of how their interests are best served,” the president said.