Turkey Refuses To Apologise For Downing Jet

An image taken from video footage of the jet coming down
Turkey has refused to apologise for shooting down a Russian fighter jet near the Syrian border, say reports.
Instead, President Tayyip Erdogan said Moscow should apologise for violating his country's airspace.
"Our pilots and our armed forces, they simply fulfilled their duties, which consisted of responding to ... violations of the rules of engagement. I think this is the essence," CNN quoted him as saying.
Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow was still waiting for an apology or offer of reimbursement from Ankara.
He also said Turkey had not given assurances that "the culprits of the crime" will be punished.
"It seems that the Turkish leadership is deliberately driving relations (between Russia and Turkey) into a dead end," Mr Putin said.
The incident has sparked a war of words between the two countries, with each accusing the other of being in the wrong.
Turkey claims the Sukhoi Su-24 was warned numerous times before being shot down by two of its F16 jets for violating Turkish airspace.
On Thursday, Mr Erdogan denied accusations from Russia that Turkey was collaborating with Islamic State (IS), which has seized territory in Syria and Iraq.
He accused Moscow of using its airstrikes against IS as a pretext to target opposition groups in order to strengthen Syrian President Bashar al Assad, who remains in power despite almost five years of civil war.
Turkey would "respond the same way" if the incident happened again, he added.

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