Turkey 'sorry for downing Russian jet'

Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) has received a personal apology from his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan (right), Moscow said.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has apologised for the downing of a Russian military jet on the Turkey-Syria border, the Kremlin has said.

Mr Erdogan sent a message to President Vladimir Putin expressing "sympathy and deep condolences" to the family of the killed pilot, a spokesman said. Turkey had angered Moscow by failing to apologise for the incident in November.

Russia responded by imposing trade sanctions and suspending Russian package tours to Turkey. Mr Putin said at the time the restrictions would not be lifted until Russia received an apology.


Mr Erdogan spoke of his deep regret for what happened and said he wanted to restore relations, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

"The letter states, in particular, that Russia is a friend to Turkey and a strategic partner, with which the Turkish authorities would not wish to spoil relations," Mr Peskov said. Turkey has not yet commented on the Kremlin statement.