Kremlin reminds Erdogan Russia expects apology, compensation for downed Su-24 jet

Moscow expects the Turkish leadership’s apology, explanation and compensation for the downed Russian Su-24 bomber in Syria and the death of Russian pilot, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday, according to TASS.

Peskov commented on the statement of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that he wants to mend ties with Moscow but does not understand what steps Russia expects from him.

"I don’t think that I have the right to advise something to the president of another country, this would be incorrect, but I believe it is necessary to remind about the repeated statements of the president of our country [on this issue]," Peskov said.

"Several days after the killing of our pilot the president said that after such aggressive and treacherous acts of course the Russian side expects apology, explanations of reasons of the incident and payment of compensation for the downed jet and also compensation to the family of the killed pilot," Peskov stressed, expressing regret that "so far no steps towards that have been made by the Turkish side."

Relations between Russia and Turkey deteriorated sharply after a Turkish Air Force F-16 fighter jet downed a Russian Su-24M bomber in the sky over Syria on November 24, 2015. Pilot Oleg Peshkov was killed by militants from the ground after ejecting.

Ankara claims the bomber violated the Turkish airspace near the Syrian border. The Russian Defense Ministry said the warplane was flying over Syrian territory and had never violated Turkey’s airspace.

Source: MENA