Turkey is set to return Russian pilot Oleg Peshkov's remains after he was killed escaping from his F-16 jet that was shot down on Nov. 24 by Turkish air missiles, according to the BBC. The Turkish government agreed on Saturday to transport the 45-year-old pilot's body to Ankara, after the location of the remains went unrevealed.
Syrian rebels shot and killed Peshkov as he parachuted from the downed jet near the Syrian-Turkish border. Konstantin Murakhtin, Peshkov's co-pilot, survived by hiding for several hours before being rescued. Russian marine Alexander Pozynich, 29, was killed in the rescue mission.
Even with strained relations with Russia, Ahmed Davutoglu, the Turkish prime minister, said in Sunday's press conference that a local Orthodox church in Hatay would perform Peshkov's religious rites.
"Communication and coordination in Syria operations is needed in order to prevent further incidents, because two different coalition groups are conducting operations in Syrian air space always risk leading to similar incidents," Davutoglu said, according to the Huffington Post.
Russian President Vladimir Putin insists the attack on the Russian warplane by Turkey, a NATO member, was a deliberate "stab in the back" and has approved some economic sanctions against Turkey, including an embargo on goods and limiting travel between the two countries.
"He was a role model for me in everything," said Pavel Peshkov, Oleg Peshov's brother, according to the New York Daily News. "Oleg was dreaming about the sky since childhood, when he collected model planes."
Peshkov is survived by a wife and two children, ages 8 and 16.
