Turkey will not pay compensation to Russia over the downing of a fighter jet last year and has only expressed regret over the incident, prime minister Binali Yildirim has said, after president Recep Tayyip Erdogan offered a conciliatory hand to Moscow over the incident that shattered ties between the two countries, The Guardian reports.
Yildirim’s statement on Tuesday appeared to contradict a statement he made to public TV network TRT on Monday evening, in which he said Turkey would pay compensation “if necessary.”
Yildirim also indicated that Erdogan would speak with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, this week over how to rebuild ties between the two countries, which back opposite sides in the Syrian war.
Yildirim also said legal proceedings were under way against an individual allegedly responsible for the killing of the Russian pilot.
