Turkey has apologized for the downing of a Russian military jet Su-24
in November 2015 in the Latakia region in Syria. A Russian marine died
in the incident.
The President of Turkey and the President of Russia are expected to
communicate later today by phone, for the first time since the Antalya
G20 Summit, days before the incident.
Since, Turkey is suffering the effects of Russian economic sanctions
on agricultural exports, tourism, construction, and the energy sector.
Russia’s President Putin had made clear these would remain in place
until Turkey issued a formal apology.
President
Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President
Vladimir Putin are expected to resume communication on Tuesday by phone. Turkish Prime Minister
Binali Yildirim announced the exploratory talks on TRT TV on Monday evening.
A message was sent on Monday by President Erdogan expressing
“sympathy and deep condolences” and, according to Kremlin spokesman
Dmitry Peskov,
he expressed deep regret for what happened, and noted that Turkey is a
“friend” and “strategic partner” to Russia. Turkey did not react to the
statement.
In November, Turkey said the Russian plane had been warned 10 times
over a five minute time frame to change direction and avoid the Turkish
air space. The Russian defense ministry insisted the aircraft never
entered Syria nor received any warning. Mr. Putin had called the
incident “a stab in the back” of Ankara to Moscow.
https://www.neweurope.eu/article/erd/