Russia says Turkey should pay compensation for downed jet

MOSCOW — A top Russian diplomat said on yesterday that Turkey should pay compensation for the Russian warplane it shot down near the Syrian border last month, a call Turkey has promptly rejected.

The downing of the Su-24 and the deaths of two Russian servicemen strained the traditionally warm relations between the two countries.

Deputy Foreign Minister Alexei Meshkov told state news agency RIA Novosti on yesterday that it still expects Ankara to apologize, pay the compensation and provide guarantees that it will never happen again.

The Russian Su-24 was on a bombing mission near the Turkish-Syrian border with a two-man crew when it was shot down on Nov. 24. One of the pilots was killed, while the second was rescued. A Russian marine was killed during the rescue operation.

Turkey said the jet violated its airspace but Moscow has denied that claim, saying that it would show the jet's black box to international experts to prove its point.

In Ankara, a Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman on yesterday indicated that Moscow shouldn't be expecting an apology or compensation.

"If (Russia) guarantees that there won't be a violation of Turkish airspace, a similar incident won't happen again," Tanju Bilgic said.

Earlier this month, Russia imposed economic sanctions on Turkey, including a ban on foodstuffs imports and recently took the issue of Turkey's deployment of troops in Iraq to the UN Security Council.