Turkey won't apologize to Russia over warplane downing

BRUSSELS — Turkey won't apologize to Russia for shooting down a warplane operating over Syria, the Turkish prime minister said Monday, stressing that the military was doing its job defending the country's airspace.

Ahmet Davutoglu also said Turkey hopes Moscow will reconsider economic sanctions announced against Turkish interests following last week's incident. The Turkish resort town of Antalya is "like a second home" to many Russian holidaymakers, he said, but refused to yield on Turkish security.

"No Turkish prime minister or president will apologize ... because of doing our duty," Davutoglu told reporters after meeting with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels.

"Protection of Turkish airspace, Turkish borders is a national duty, and our army did their job to protect this airspace. But if the Russian side wants to talk, and wants to prevent any future unintentional events like this, we are ready to talk."

Turkish F-16s shot down a Russian warplane on Nov. 24, sparking Cold War-style tensions between Russia and NATO, of which Turkey is a member. One of the Russian pilots was killed, while a second was rescued.

On Monday, the body of Lt. Col. Oleg Peshkov, the Russian pilot, was flown back to Russia following a military ceremony in the Turkish capital, Ankara, Turkey's military said.

The Russian air force said Monday that its Su-34 fighter-bombers in Syria were now armed with air-to-air missiles for defense. Air force spokesman Col. Igor Klimov said the missiles have a range of about 35 miles, Russian news agencies reported.

Russia began airstrikes in Syria on Sept. 30 that it says are focused on fighters of the Islamic State group. But some observers say Russia is targeting other rebel groups to bolster the forces of Syrian President Bashar Assad. Russia insists that the plane that was shot down didn't intrude on Turkish airspace.

See Tuesday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.

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