A little piece of hell freezes over: Erdogan apologizes to Putin for murdering Russian pilot, calls Russia 'friend, strategic partner'

Alex Christoforou
The Duran
Mon, 27 Jun 2016 15:35 UTC

© AFP 2016/ ADEM ALTAN

Erdogan said that Turkey "shares the pain of downed Su-24 pilot's death with his family" and sees it as Turkey's pain.

Turkey's President Erdogan "is sorry" for shooting down a Russian SU-25 and killing its pilot. Just in time for the tourist season.

President Erdogan said he is willing to deal with the crisis in relations between Russia and Turkey. According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Erdogan said that Turkey...

"shares the pain of downed Su-24 pilot's death with his family" and "sees it as Turkey's pain"

It's no secret that Turkey's economy has been beaten and battered by Russia's sanction, especially in the tourism sector where Turkish hotels (once the primary destination for Russian summer travellers) remain completely abandoned and empty.

Let's not even mention Syria, where Erdogan's once grand ambition to overthrow Assad, and get a Saudi/Qatari pipeline flowing through Turkey on route to Europe, has been obliterated by Russia's targeting of Turkey/NATO trained ISIS and Al Nusra forces.

It's high time for Erdogan to finally yield and apologise for Turkey's illegal actions...and maybe walk back some of the humiliation, and financial blows incurred, at the hands of a determined Russia.

Sputnik News breaks the story, and provides some additional background...

On November 24, 2015, a Turkish F-16 fighter plane shot down a Russian Su-24M bomber jet operating as part of Russia's anti-terrorist mission in northern Syria near the Turkish border. Following the shootdown, Russian pilot Oleg Peshkov successfully ejected from his plane, but was shot and killed as his parachute descended to the ground by armed militia.

Later, Alparslan Celik, a member of the ultra-nationalist militant group Grey Wolves, suspected to be operating in the area, confirmed his involvement in the murder of the Russian pilot.

The trial of Alparslan Celik, a Turkish citizen accused of the criminal possession and carrying of weapons, has begun in the western Turkish city of Izmir. Celik had earlier been acquitted for the murder of Russian pilot Oleg Peshkov, whose Su-24 bomber jet was shot down over Syria in November 2015 by a Turkish warplane.

Comment: Interesting that the trial against Celik goes on. Previously, he had been cleared of any wrongdoing in the murder of Peshkov, due to "insufficient evidence". Will the Turkish courts now throw Celik to the wolves (no pun intended!) as an overture to Russia?

Comment: Erdogan emphasized, "We never had the desire and intention to shoot down the aircraft of the Russian Federation." This, of course, totally contradicts what Turkey has been saying ever since the shoot-down. The Kremlin has published a note on the letter, which adds:

Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed his deep regret over the incident and underlines the willingness to do everything possible to restore the traditionally friendly relations between Turkey and Russia, as well as jointly respond to crisis events in the region to fight terrorism.

RT adds:

Ankara has treated the family of the dead Russian pilot as if it were a Turkish family and is "ready for any initiatives to relieve the pain and severity of the damage done," the letter said.
...
From the start, the Kremlin made it clear that restoration of normal relations with Turkey would be impossible without Ankara apologizing and paying compensation to the pilot's family.

The news of Erdogan's apology had a positive effect on Turkey's currency. The Turkish lira rallied to 2.9330 from 2.9430 against the US dollar, Reuters reported.

Coincidentally, this comes just as Turkey has re-established relations with Israel.

But of course, if we are to cut to the chase, the real reason for this little event is plain for all to see:

Gazprom ready to restart Turkish Stream dialogue after Erdogan apology