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Kremlin says not inclined to believe rumors of Erdogan’s order to shoot down Russian Su-24

The Kremlin is guided by Turkey’s statements

SOCHI, December 3. /TASS/. Moscow proceeds from the fact that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan did not give orders to attack a Russian Sukhoi Su-24 fighter jet in Syria in 2015, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

"We are guided by Turkey’s statements, including public ones, that other people ordered the Russian plane to be shot down," he said.

When asked about the Kremlin’s attitude to allegations that Erdogan could have given the order, Peskov pointed out that the source of those rumors was unclear so it was hard to say if they were true.

On November 24, 2015, a Turkish Air Force F-16 fighter jet shot down a Russian Sukhoi Su-24 attack aircraft taking part in Moscow’s counterterrorism operation in Syria. One of the two Russian pilots was killed, while the other was rescued in a 12-hour operation carried out by Russian and Syrian troops. A marine was killed during the operation, and a Mil Mi-8 helicopter was destroyed.