Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has made it clear that Turkey won't apologize to Russia for downing a Russian fighter jet over the Turkish-Syrian border last week.
"The protection of our airspace, land border is not only a right but a duty for my government. No authority will apologize because of doing [its] duty. Protection of Turkish borders is a national duty and our armed forces did their job to protect its airspace," Davutoglu said Monday, according to the Anadolu Agency.
The Turkish prime minister, however, said that his government wants to hold talks with Russia to prevent any future events like this.
"If the Russian side wants talks and to prevent any future event like this, we are ready to talk. If they want information, we can give any information regarding this incident. If they want to improve relations... we are ready to talk," the Turkish premier said in a joint press conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels.
Stoltenberg supported Turkey's decision to make contact with Russia and open a dialogue about the incident, urging cooperation.
"All allies fully support Turkey's right to defend its territorial integrity and its airspace. I welcome Turkey's efforts to establish contact with Moscow to de-escalate the situation," he said, according to the Anadolu Agency. "It is important to stay calm and to calm tensions. I urge Russia to play a constructive role in Syria by targeting ISIL [Daesh] - our common enemy."
The downing of the Su-24M fighter jet by the Turkish air force on Nov. 24 has heightened tensions between the two countries, as HNGN reported previously.Turkey continues to maintain that it's air force shot down the plane because it had entered the Turkish airspace. Moscow dismissed Turkish explanation saying that the fighter jet was downed in Syrian airspace.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had earlier expressed regret over the drowning incident.
"We are truly saddened by this incident. We wish it hadn't happened as such, but unfortunately such a thing has happened. I hope that something like this doesn't occur again," the Turkish leader said Saturday, according to The Hindu. Russian President Vladimir Putin refused a meeting with Erdogan in Paris on Monday to talk about the incident.
