Russian, Turkish Ministers Agree to Hold Talks on Plane Downing

Russia’s military has recovered the second pilot from its bomber shot down by Turkey on Tuesday, Russia’s defense ministry has announced.
Speaking on television following a briefing from his defense minister, Vladimir Putin confirmed the pilot had been rescued. The defense minister, Sergei Shoigu, earlier told a meeting that the pilot had been found after a twelve-hour search and that he was now back in a Russian airbase in Syria.
The plane’s other pilot was killed by rebels after he ejected, according to Russian defense officials. Putin said the deceased pilot will be awarded the Gold Star of the Hero of Russia medal, one of Russia’s highest military honors.
Simultaneously, Russia’s defense ministry announced it would be deploying advanced anti-aircraft missile systems to Syria, close to where the incident happened to prevent further attacks of its planes conducting strikes there.
The Su-24 jet was brought down by Turkish fighters in the northern mountains of Syria’s Latakia province, close to the border with Turkey, where it had been bombing Syrian rebel militants. Turkey has insisted the plane was destroyed because it violated Turkish airspace, a claim Russia has disputed.
The shooting down-- the first of a Russian plane by a NATO aircraft since the 1950s-- has prompted a diplomatic crisis between Russia and Turkey and added yet another tangle to the intractable Syrian conflict.
Russia has been supporting the government of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad with an air campaign for the past two months. Turkey, which is deeply opposed to Assad, has been supporting rebel groups with arms and money.
Putin called the downing of the plane a “stab in the back” and has accused Turkey of supporting terrorism, calling it an “accomplice of terrorists”. The incident has caused a sharp breach in Russian-Turkish relations, with Russia’s foreign ministry recommending Russian citizens stop visiting Turkey and most major tour operators halting sales of trips there.
Turkey has defended its actions, insisting it had given the Russian plane multiple warnings and that it had crossed over a mile into Turkish territory. On Wednesday morning, however, Turkish prime minister, Tayyip Erdogan, said his country would not escalate the situation.

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