Moscow, December 14 (RHC)-- Russia says one of its warships was forced to fire warning shots at a Turkish boat in the Aegean Sea to avoid a collision. The Russian Defense Ministry said on Sunday that the incident took place earlier in the day off Greece’s Lemnos Island, adding that Turkey's military attaché in Moscow was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry over the incident.

The Turkish boat had refused to establish radio contact with the Russian ship despite several attempts and even ignored the visual signals sent by Russian sailors, the press service said.

“As the Turkish seine boat sailed about 600 meters close to the Russian surveillance ship, in order to prevent the ships' collision, small arms were used along the Turkish vessel's path at a guaranteed survivability distance," it added.

The Turkish boat immediately changed its course and sailed past the Russian warship at a distance of 540 meters, it concluded. The incident could increase tensions between Turkey and Russia that have been locked in a war of words since November 24, when Turkey downed the Russian Su-24 fighter jet over Syria, claiming that it had entered Turkish airspace, an accusation strongly rejected by Moscow.

Russia has also condemned the recent deployment of Turkish forces to northern Iraq as an incursion. Russia’s Foreign Ministry said it considered Ankara’s dispatch of its forces “illegal” and "a very serious factor of tensions," emphasizing that "the forces were deployed without the approval of the Iraqi government."