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Wednesday, November 25, 2015

One pilot from jet picked up by Syrian army

The second Russian pilot who ejected from a jet shot down by Turkey has been picked up by the Syrian army, Russia's ambassador to France says.

'One on board was wounded when he parachuted down and killed in a savage way on the ground by the jihadists in the area and the other managed to escape and, according to the latest information, has been picked up by the Syrian army and should be going back to the Russian airforce base,' ambassador Alexandre Orlov told Europe 1 radio.

Earlier Russia's defence ministry said the first pilot was killed by opposition forces who shot at him as he landed after ejecting from the plane.

Several videos circulating online and shared on opposition social media sites purported to show the dead pilot surrounded by rebels from different factions.

Fadi Ahmed, a spokesman for the First Coastal Front rebel group, said 'the Russian pilot was killed by gunfire as he fell with his parachute' in the Jabal Turkman area of Latakia province on the coast.

'The 10th Brigade (rebel group) transferred the body of the dead Russian to the local rebel joint operations room,' added Omar Jablawi, a media activist working with rebels in the area.

He declined to specify exactly where the joint operations room was located.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and US President Barack Obama have agreed on the need to reduce tensions after Turkish forces shot down the Russian plane on the Syrian border for allegedly violating Turkish air space.

'They were in accord on the importance of de-escalating tensions and making arrangements to prevent a repeat of such incidents,' the Turkish presidency said in a statement following telephone talks between the two leaders.

The statement said Obama had emphasised in the telephone talks that Turkey's right to defend its sovereignty was 'supported by the United States and NATO'.

The two leaders also expressed their commitment to bringing about a transitional political process for peace in Syria and joint determination to continue the fight against Islamic State jihadists, the statement added.

Meanwhile UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday called for urgent measures to de-escalate tensions.

Ban said a 'credible and thorough review' of the incident would help clarify what happened and prevent a repeat.

'The secretary-general urges all relevant parties to take urgent measures with a view to de-escalate the tensions,' said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric.

The Russia SU-24 attack plane was shot down earlier Tuesday by two Turkish F-16s after it received 10 warnings within a five-minute period, Turkey's envoy to the UN said.

The US military backed up Turkey's claim that Turkish pilots warned a Russian jet 10 times, but failed to get a response, before shooting it down after it briefly entered Turkish airspace.

Turkish ambassador Halit Cevik said in a letter to the UN Security Council that his government was determined to defend its sovereignty, security and borders.

'Our rules of engagement are well known and are reiterated to all parties on numerous occasions,' wrote Cevik.

'Turkey will not hesitate to exercise its rights emanating from international law to protect the security of its citizens and borders.'

The ambassador said two SU-24 planes approached Turkish airspace in the Hatay region, flying at an altitude of 19,000 feet and that they crossed into Turkish airspace for 17 seconds.

'Despite these warnings, both planes... violated Turkish national airspace to a depth of 1.36 miles and 1.15 miles in length for 17 seconds' from 9.24am local time, wrote the ambassador.

One plane left Turkish air space, but the second one was fired at by Turkish F-16s performing patrols in that area, said the ambassador.

Russia insisted the fighter jet was inside Syrian territory and President Vladimir Putin warned of 'serious consequences' for Russian-Turkish relations.

British ambassador Matthew Rycroft, whose country chairs the council this month, said a meeting could be held if requested and that the incident was not raised during a morning session.

Rycroft said he was 'extremely concerned' and stressed the importance of 'deconfliction' measures to prevent clashes in the air campaigns being waged by Russia and the US-led coalition in Syria.

AFP

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