Russian Su-24M Jet Attack: Moscow Wants Turkey To Guarantee Downing Incident Will Not Repeat, Asks For Compensation

Russia said Wednesday that Turkey should pay compensation for downing a Russian fighter jet in November. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexei Meshkov also said that Ankara should guarantee that such an incident will not happen in future, according to reports.

"Instead of continuing to deny their responsibility for the incident and denigrate Russia's legitimate actions in Syria, they should at least do what is provided by international legal standards: apologize, pay for the damages and provide guarantees that this will not happen again in the future," Meshkov told RIA Novosti, according to Sputnik News.

Turkey shot down the Russian Sukhoi Su-24M fighter jet on Nov. 24, alleging that Moscow violated Turkish airspace -- a claim repeatedly denied by Russia. The Kremlin has demanded an apology from Turkey over the incident, accusing it of deliberately downing the plane. However, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said in late November that his country would not apologize to Russia. He also warned that such incidents would remain a risk if Russia and NATO continue their air campaigns separately against the Islamic State group, also known as ISIS, in Syria.

Meshkov said Wednesday that Turkey’s “double standards” in fighting the Sunni militant group were leading nowhere. He also cautioned that relations between Moscow and Ankara will not be the same, "at least on the level that was reached in recent years."

"The current line maintained by Turkish authorities does not allow for positive forecasts, both in terms of their complete unwillingness to acknowledge the responsibility for an unprovoked attack on a Russian Su-24, as well as in terms of getting rid of double standards in the fight against international terrorism," Meshkov reportedly said.

Earlier this month, Alexander Grushko, Moscow’s permanent representative to NATO, said that the U.S.-led coalition “politically covered” Turkey by not providing any opinion over the aircraft downing and accused it of being equally responsible for the incident.