Updated 01:22 PM EDT, Thu, Mar 28, 2024

Turkey Finds Body of Russian Pilot From Shot Down Jet 

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Turkey has recovered the body of the Russian pilot from northern Syria, according to Reuters. Five days after shooting down the warplane in an incident that wrecked the two countries' relations, a coffin carrying the body of Oleg Peshnov arrived by ambulance on the Hatay Airport tarmac in Southern Turkey, near the Syrian border.

The body of the pilot was then flown to the capital, Ankara, where it was met by Moscow's ambassador and military attache.

However, neither the Russian Embassy nor the Turkish officials commented on when the body will be repatriated to Russia. Turkish Prime Minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, also said that the pilot's body had been treated in accordance with Orthodox Christian tradition, reported BBC. The other pilot in the plane, Capt. Konstantin Murakhtin, has survived and was rescued, although he was quoted to have said that "someone has to pay" for Peshnov's death.

The downing of the Russian jet that Peshnov was piloting has stirred up relations between Turkey and Russia.

President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Saturday that covers imports from Turkey, workers of Turkish companies in Russia, and Turkish nationals working for Russian companies. The decree also called for an end to charter flights between the countries.

Meanwhile, Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, refused to apologize for the downing of the Russian jet, accusing Moscow of "playing with fire" in the Syrian operations.

The rift between both countries has resulted in Moscow ramping up air strikes against Syrian rebels near the Turkish border, killing dozens of civilians in the process.

However, the bombings are not against the Islamic State. Russia, a supporter of Assad, launched its bombing campaign against Assad opponents nearly two months ago, and is the focus of the strikes in Northwestern Syria.

The worst strike happened on Sunday, killing 43 people in a crowded marketplace in Ariha, only 31 of whom are already identified.

A Civil Defence worker, Mohamed Amine Qurabi said about the strike, "The vendors were shouting loudly as people were buying and selling and suddenly we heard the sound of the planes and in less than a second the jets struck and there was deadly silence."

The severed ties between Turkey and Russia will have larger impact as well, as BBC pointed out that they share important economic links: Russia being Turkey's second-largest trading partner, and Russia being a major contributor to Turkey's tourism -- for example, over three million Russian tourists were said to have visited Turkey last year.

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