Comments
There are no comments.
Add Comments
Lt Col Oleg Peshkov and his co-pilot came under ground fire after they parachuted from their burning plane.
AFP/ Ankara
The body of a Russian pilot killed when his plane was shot down by Turkey last week will be handed over to a Russian representative after being retrieved from Syria, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Sunday.
"The pilot who lost his life during the air violation was received by us on the (Syrian) border last night," Davutoglu told reporters in Istanbul before leaving for a meeting with EU leaders in Brussels.
Davutoglu added that a Russian official would travel "soon" to the southern Hatay region with a Turkish military official to take possession of the body.
The Russian embassy in Turkey told the RIA Novosti news agency that Oleg Peskov's body would be flown on Sunday from Hatay in the presence of Russia's military attache to an aerodrome in Ankara where it would be met by the ambassador.
The date and time when the body would be returned to Russia was still to be confirmed, embassy spokesman Igor Mityakov was quoted as saying.
One of the two pilots aboard the plane which was downed on Tuesday was shot dead in Syria after parachuting from the burning aircraft, while the second was found safe and sound.
"In accordance with their (Russian) religious tradition, funeral arrangements were carried out by Orthodox priests in Hatay," Davutoglu said.
Turkey's military said the Su-24 bomber was shot down by two of its F-16s after it violated Turkish airspace 10 times within a five-minute period on Tuesday.
Russia however said no warning had been given and that the aircraft did not violate Turkish airspace, and demanded an apology.
The incident has led to a sharp deterioration of relations, with Moscow, a major trade partner and Turkey's largest energy supplier, on Saturday announcing a package of economic sanctions against Turkey.
"Turkey's relations with Russia is based on mutual benefit and common interests. Therefore I urge the Russian authorities to take this into consideration and act in a cool-headed way," he said when asked about the sanctions.
There are no comments.
SPORT Saying goodbye is never easy, especially when you are saying farewell to those that have left a positive impression. That was the case earlier this month when Canada hosted Mexico in a friendly at BC Place stadium in Vancouver.
TECHNOLOGY Some 60mn primary-school-age children have no access to formal education
CULTURE Lekhwiya’s El Arabi scores the equaliser after Tresor is sent off; Tabata, al-Harazi score for QSL champions
ARABIA The Yemeni Minister of Tourism, Dr Mohamed Abdul Majid Qubati, yesterday expressed hope that the 48-hour ceasefire in Yemen declared by the Command of Coalition Forces on Saturday will be maintained in order to lift the siege imposed on Taz City and ease the entry of humanitarian aid to the besieged
ARABIA Some 200 teachers from schools across the country attended Qatar Museum’s (QM) first ever Teachers Council at the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) yesterday.
ARABIA The Supreme Judiciary Council (SJC) of Qatar and the Indonesian Supreme Court (SCI) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on judicial co-operation, it was announced yesterday.
ECONOMY Sri Lanka is keen on importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar as part of government policy to shift to clean energy, Minister of City Planning and Water Supply Rauff Hakeem has said.
