Turkey could possibly pay Russia $5 billion in compensation for downing Su-24 bomber last year
Ahmed Takan, the advisor to former President of Turkey Abdullah Gül, commented on reports of possible compensation to Russia for the downed Su-24, Cumhuriye newspaper writes.
According to him, it is possible that Ankara will compensate Moscow. According to the newspaper’s information, the compensation will amount to $5 billion.
In June, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan sent a letter to his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in which he expressed condolences to the family of the deceased Su-24 pilot.
The Su-24 bomber was shot down by a Turkish fighter on November 24, 2015, in the skies over Syria. The pilots managed to eject, but later one of them, Oleg Peshkov, was shot from the ground. The navigator, Konstantin Murahtin, survived.
According to Ankara, the aircraft violated Turkish airspace. The Russian Defense Ministry, in turn, stated that the Su-24 was flying exclusively over Syrian territory.