Turkey Refuses to Hand Materials on Attack on Su-24M Over to Russia

"Our military representative was notified that it was impossible to hand him any materials relating to the attack on a Russian plane on November 24 by a Turkish F-16 fighter," Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said when speaking of the results of the diplomat’s visit to the Turkish General Staff. TASS qoutes him.


The Turkish Air Force’s F-16 fighter on Tuesday shot down a Russian Sukhoi Su-24M bomber that Ankara claims violated the country’s airspace on the border with Syria. The Su-24M crew ejected but one of the two pilots was killed by fire from the ground. The second pilot was rescued as a result of a 12-hour operation. During evacuation of the Su-24M crew, a Mi-8 helicopter was lost and a contract marine was killed.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said the Su-24M was above Syrian territory and "there was no violation of Turkey’s airspace." It said the Turkish Air Force fighter violated Syria’s airspace.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that Turkey’s attack will have "serious consequences" for Russian-Turkish relations.