Erdogan Says He Wishes Russian Plane Hadn’t Been Shot Down
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Turkey's president has expressed regret about the downing of a Russian military jet by his armed forces.
"We wish it hadn't happened, but it happened. I hope something like this doesn't happen again," Erdogan said on Saturday referring to the downing of the jet by Turkish forces last Tuesday.
"This incident upset us greatly. I really hope this will not happen again. We shall discuss this issue and find a solution. On Monday, Paris will host the international climate summit, this could be a chance to restore our relations with Russia," Erdogan said in a speech reported by Sputnik News.
"Confrontation will not make anyone happy. As Russia is important for Turkey, Turkey is important for Russia. We cannot remove each other from the horizon," the president added.
On November 24, a Russian Su-24 jet crashed in Syria during an anti-terrorist operation. Moscow said the aircraft was downed by an air-to-air missile, fired from a Turkish F-16 fighter in response to an alleged violation of Turkish airspace, an accusation denied both by the Russian General Staff and the Syrian Air Defense Command.
Following the incident, Erdogan said Ankara would not apologize over the incident after Moscow demanded an apology.
Erdogan later said that the relations with Russia were very important for Turkey, but warned Moscow against "playing with fire" by supporting Syrian President Bashar Assad.
Turkey, as well as the West, do not see Assad as the country's legitimate authority, and support militant groups in Syria fighting to oust the president. Russia has been launching airstrikes against terrorist positions in Syria at Assad’s request since September.
