Russian warship passes through Bosphorus as soldier on board carries missile

A Russian warship passed through Istanbul's Bosphorus en route to the Mediterranean on the morning of Dec. 6, with one soldier seen in footage holding a ground-to-air missile, private broadcaster NTV has reported.

The soldier held the missile on his shoulder in the shooting position during the passing of Russia's Caesar Kunikov warship.

Meanwhile, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavu?o?lu has described the soldier's position on the ship as "provocative."

A crisis has erupted between Ankara and Moscow since Turkey downed a Russian jet near the Syrian border on Nov. 24.

Meanwhile, three NATO warships also dropped anchor off Istanbul's Sarayburnu coast on Dec. 6, Do?an News Agency has reported.

The NATO Maritime Group warships included Portugal's F-334 NRP Francisco de Almeida, Spain's F-105 ESPS Blaz de Lezo, and Canada's FFG-338 HMCS Winnipeg.

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