Jeb Bush said Wednesday he supports Turkey in the dispute that resulted in Russian warplane being shot down Tuesday near the border between Turkey and Syria.
“I believe Turkey, but it will be verified by all sorts of ways through technology. Turkey is a NATO ally they are an integral part if we’re to be successful in the fight against ISIS and to change regimes, to take out Assad, it used to be our objective,” Bush told CNN’s Alisyn Camerota on “New Day.” “If we’re serious about that, Turkey needs to be an ally and we need to show support. I think President Obama was correct to say that every country has a right to self-defense.”
Obama said Tuesday that Turkey has a right to defend its air space, but also urged the two countries to communicate better to de-escalate tensions as Russia continues operations near the Turkish-Syrian border.
Bush said Wednesday that Russia could be an ally in the fight against ISIS, but added that would require the U.S. setting requirements for working with Russia and Russia abandoning its alliance with Iran in support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
“Look Russia could be our ally, but they would have to abandon their alliance with Iran and with Assad. But for Iran and Russia, Assad would not exist,” Bush said. “That’s a key element of creating a secure Syria. Were not going to be successful taking out ISIS with out dealing with the Assad regime as well.”