The shooting down by Turkey of a Russian Sukhoi 24M bomber was "a loss for the international anti-terrorist campaign," the Chinese Foreign Ministry has said.

He also noted that the Russian warplane in Syria was carrying out flights in Syria’s airspace with the authorization of the Syrian government.

"It was shot down during a mission to destroy terrorist targets in Syria. The UN Security Council passed a resolution that empowers all participating countries capable of doing so to take all necessary measures to combat terrorist forces, including Islamic State," the Chinese diplomat said.

The Su-24M was shot down on November 24. Ankara said that the aircraft violated Turkey’s airspace - an allegation that Moscow has rejected.