It is being reported by the Kremlin that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has apologized Monday for the downing of a Russian jet last November.
On Nov. 24 of last year, Turkey reported that two unknown aircraft came close to their airspace. The airspace in question was a “no-fly zone,” and Turkish officials said that the planes were warned over an emergency channel 10 times they should change direction.
The planes reportedly disregarded the direction and flew into Turkish airspace for 17 seconds. While one plane left the airspace, the second plane was fired at and shot down.
But Russian president Vladimir Putin said that the planes were flying over Syrian airspace, not Turkey's.
The BBC reported that both the pilot and navigator of the SU-24 Russian jet ejected from the plane. The pilot, Lt. Col. Oleg Peshkov, did not survive.
The navigator, Capt. Konstantin Murakhtin, later said that he had not received a warning to leave the airspace he was occupying.
"A Russian marine, Aleksandr Pozynich, was also killed during an attempted rescue mission, when an Mi-8 helicopter he was travelling in came under fire," the BBC reported.
Fox News reported on the apology:
The Kremlin reported Monday Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent a message to Russian President Vladimir Putin saying "I am sorry" for the downing of a Russian jet last November, an incident Putin had called "a stab in the back."
Erdogan expressed his "sympathy and deep condolences" to the family of the killed pilot and "asked to be forgiven," Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
The Turkish president also said an investigation was underway against a "Turkish citizen who is associated with the 'death of Russian pilot,'" the Kremlin added.