Turkey said it received the body of a Russian pilot, Oleg Peshkov, killed when his military aircraft was shot down on the Syrian border, Russian press attaché in Turkey, Igor Mityakov, told official press agency TASS on Sunday.
“We have been confirmed today from the Hatay province to Ankara they will deliver the body of Hero of Russia Oleg Peshkov,” he said. “The embassy’s military attaché will be on the flight with the body. At the aerodrome in Ankara, Russian Ambassador Andrei Karlov and the embassy’s representatives will meet the plane. The date and time of the body’s delivery to Russia are being discussed now.”
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu also confirmed that the body of Lt Col Oleg Peshkov will be given back to Russia.
An F-16 fighter jet from the Turkish Air Force shot down a Russian Su-24M bomber on Tuesday. Ankara claims the Su-24M bomber violated Turkish air space in the area of the border with Syria, but Russia denies the plane crossed the border.
Another pilot was rescued by Syrian and Russian Special Forces.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Saturday that bans imports of certain goods from Turkey in line with the register approved by Russia’s government, the Kremlin press service said on Saturday.
The decree stipulates bans or restrictions on organizations under Turkey’s jurisdiction conducting certain types of activity within Russia in line with the register drafted by Russia’s government “for purposes of protecting national security and national interests of the Russian Federation, protection of the citizens of the Russian Federation from criminal or any other illegal activities.”
Further, the decree suspends employment of Turkish nationals starting from 1 January, 2016.
The sanctions include the unilateral suspension of the visa-free policy for Turkish nationals travelling to Russia starting in 2016. Russian travel agencies will suspend their Turkish tourism packages for Russian citizens.
Moreover, the sanctions also introduced a ban on charter flights between Russia and Turkey. Security controls on Turkish ships within Russian waters in the Sea of Azov and in the Black Sea would be enhanced.
Russia’s presidential press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, said on Saturday in an interview with local media that The Turkish Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s Association cannot find explanations for the actions of the country’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
“We have been receiving very many signals from, let’s call them, various public organizations, from the Association of Industrialists and Businessmen, which is working here, and they are literally ringing alarm bells,” Peskov said. “They also are unable to explain why Erdogan has done this.”
Peskov believes that Turkey’s “provocative” action of downing the Russian bomber is not in the interests of NATO or Russia, or Turkey itself.
Russian President Vladimir Putin previously warned that the attack on the bomber will have “serious consequences” for the Russian-Turkish relations.
