Turkey won't apologize over jet downing

Putin claims aircraft was targeted to protect 'profiteering' from illegal imports of oil from IS

Turkey won't apologize to Russia for shooting down a warplane operating over Syria, the Turkish prime minister said on Monday, stressing that the military was doing its job defending the country's airspace.

Ahmet Davutoglu also said Turkey hopes Moscow will reconsider economic sanctions announced against Turkish interests following last week's incident. The Turkish resort town of Antalya is "like a second home" to many Russian vacationers, he said, but refused to yield on Turkish security.

"No Turkish prime minister or president will apologize ... because of doing our duty," Davutoglu said after meeting with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels.

"Protection of Turkish airspace, Turkish borders is a national duty, and our army did its job to protect this airspace. But if the Russian side wants to talk, and wants to prevent any future unintentional events like this, we are ready to talk."

Turkish F-16s shot down a Russian warplane on Nov 24, sparking Cold War-style tensions between Russia and NATO, of which Turkey is a member. One of the Russian pilots was killed, while a second was rescued.

On Monday, the body of Lieutenant Colonel Oleg Peshkov, the Russian pilot, was flown back to Russia following a military ceremony in the Turkish capital, Ankara, Turkey's military said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, at an international talks in Paris, on Monday said "we have every reason to believe" that the plane was shot down to protect what he described as Turkish profiteering from illegal imports of oil produced by Islamic State rebels in Syria.

In Washington, US State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau said the United States has corroborated that the Russian plane violated Turkish airspace, based on evidence from Turkey and from "our own sources".

The Russian air force said on Monday that its Su-34 fighter bombers in Syria were now armed with air-to-air missiles for defense. The missiles have a range of about 60 kilometers, Russian media said.

Russia began airstrikes in Syria on Sept 30 that it said were focused on IS fighters. Russia insists that the plane that was shot down didn't intrude on Turkish airspace.

Putin on Saturday called for sanctions against Turkey, including bans on some Turkish goods and extensions on work contracts for Turks working in Russia.

AP - AFP