Turkey to hand over Russia pilot`s body

Risingbd Desk: Turkey says it has received the body of a Russian pilot killed after his plane was shot down on the Syrian border.

 

The body of Lt Col Oleg Peshkov will be given back to Russia, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said.

 

Turkish forces shot down the plane saying it had violated Turkish airspace, which Russia denies.

 

The incident has led to heated rhetoric between the two countries, with Russia announcing a package of economic sanctions against Turkey.

 

Rebels from Syria`s ethnic Turkmen community opened fire on Lt Col Peshkov and his co-pilot as they tried to parachute into government-held territory.

 

The rebels said he had died by the time he reached the ground.

 

Mr Davutoglu said the body had been received by Turkish authorities at the Syrian border but did not give any more details.

 

He said a Russian official would soon travel to the province of Hatay together with a Turkish military official and receive the body.

 

Mr Davutoglu added that Lt Col Peshkov`s body had been treated in accordance with Orthodox Christian tradition.

 

Another pilot in the plane, Capt Konstantin Murakhtin, survived and was rescued from rebel-held territory in Syria in a special forces operation.

 

Source: agencies

 

risingbd/Nov 29, 2015/Nasim