U.S. President Barack Obama said on Tuesday that he supports Turkey's right to defend itself following the downing of a Russian warplane by Turkish jets along the Syrian border last week. Obama was speaking after a meeting with Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan in Paris, where he has been attending the climate summit. "The United States supports Turkey's right to defend itself and its air space," Obama said. "We discussed how Turkey and Russia can work together to de-escalate tensions" and find a diplomatic path to resolve the issue, he said.