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Moscow says Turkish FM ought to have quit after Russian plane downing

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has commented on the Turkish foreign minister's promise he would resign should Ankara’s connections with the Islamic State be proven as a hard fact
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu EPA/ZURAB KURTSIKIDZE
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu
© EPA/ZURAB KURTSIKIDZE

MOSCOW, May 18. /TASS/. For connections with the terrorist group Islamic State (outlawed in Russia) officials must not step down but go to jail, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said about Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu’s promise he would resign should Ankara’s connections with the Islamic State be proven as a hard fact.

"That should’ve been done after Turkey downed the Russian plane," Zakharova said on her Facebook page. "For connections with the Islamic State people go to jail, and not resign."

A Turkish fighter plane on November 24, 2015 downed a Russian bomber Sukhoi-24.

Turkey claimed that the Russian plane had briefly intruded into its airspace. The Russian Defense Ministry replied that the Sukhoi-24 stayed over Syria all the time.

The crew ejected themselves. One of the two pilots came under fire from the ground and was killed. The other pilot was rescued and taken to base. Two Russian helicopters Mi-8 participated in the search and rescue operation. One of them came under fire and made a crash landing. One Marine serving on contract was killed.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said the Turkish fighter’s attack against a Russian plane that was involved in the anti-terrorist operation in Syria and posed no threat to Turkey was "a stab in Russia’s back."