'Pilot's mistake' mustn't hurt Russia Turkey ties: Erdoan

(MENAFN- The Journal Of Turkish Weekly) Relations betweenAnkaraand Moscow must not be affected by a “mistake of a pilot” Turkish PresidentRecep Tayyip Erdoanhas said in another bid to smooth tensions following the Nov. 24 downing of aRussianwarplane by Turkish jets.

“We wouldn’t have wanted to come across such a [situation] but looking from another perspective a mistake has been made in our sovereign area. Who made this mistake? Not the manager of course. It is the pilots who were negligent and did not hear the warnings” Erdoan told reporters aboard the presidential plane returning to Turkey from the Turkmenistan capital Ashgabat.

He was referring to the two pilots inside aRussianSu-24 warplane that was shot down by Turkish F-16 fighter jets after violating Turkish airspace along the border with Syria.

By Vahap Munyar

Turkey claims that it warned the warplane five times in 10 minutes and the identity of the aircraft was not visible but Moscow denies such allegations and says its aircraft remained inside Syrian airspace.Russiahas been conducting airstrikes in Syria since Sept. 30 in support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. A U.S.-led coalition made up of more than 60 states to fight the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) another party in the already mixed geography saysRussiahas been targeting anti-Assad opposition groups.

Effect on bilateral relations ‘saddening’

Stating that Turkish pilots are obliged to take action within the rules of engagement in such situations Erdoan said a “mistake” on theRussianside such not lead to such negative consequences on bilateral relations.

“An incident that occurred due to the mistake of a pilot who did not listen to the warnings should not affect the relations of two nations particularly not strategic relations. The effect of the incident on bilateral relations really saddens us” he added.

Since the downing of the jetRussiahas imposed a raft of economic sanctions on Turkey particularly on agricultural products imported from Turkey.

Erdoan said he held talks with the heads of states of countries that are neighbors to or have close ties withRussiain the region stating that those states were also trying to help find a solution to the crisis.

The Turkish president was in Turkmenistan to attend an international conference attended by a number of regional leaders with close ties to both Moscow and Ankara.

Stating that he held bilateral meetings with Turkmenistan President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili Iranian First Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif Erdoan said they had all asked what could be done to solve the crisis.

“We are not in favor of tension. We want to continue our strategic partnership and relations withRussiain the same way as we have up to now. We have worked together successfully for the past 10 to 11 years. We want to continue this” he stated.

In response to a question about whether any new message had come fromRussiathat had not been conveyed to the media Erdoan said “we are waiting let’s wait and see.”