Peskov: Erdogan tried to speak with Putin 7-8 hours after the Su-24 attack

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan was trying to get in touch with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin seven or eight hours after the Turkish Air Forces downed the Russian Su-24 bomber on the border with Syria, said Russian president’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov while speaking to reporters on November 27.

“Yes, it was about seven-eight hours after the incident, not earlier. The president was informed on the request,” Peskov said.

On November 26, the Turkish president proposed to Putin to have a meeting in Paris during the Paris climate conference COP21, but, according to Erdogan, he has received no response yet. The Kremlin says no Putin-Erdogan meeting is planned.

The relations between Turkey and Russia became complicated after the Turkish Air Forces shot down a Russian Su-24 warplane. Putin called it “a stab in the back”. Erdogan refused to offer an apology. Ankara insists the Russian plane breached Turkish air space and was not answering to warnings; Moscow insists that the plane did not cross the border.