BREAKING NEWS: Body of pilot Oleg Peshkov arrives in Russia from Turkey

Remains of Su-24 pilot killed in Syria arrive in Russia - Defense Ministry

RT 

30 Nov, 2015 - 15:48

Casket taken to plane Ankara airport by Turkish honor guard 

Photo: Turkey's Hurriyet Daily News (1 of 9 photos)

Photo: Ministry of National Defence of Turkey / Sputnik

The body of the pilot of the Su-24 bomber, shot down by a Turkish F-16 fighter jet last week over Syria, has arrived in Russia.

The plane landed at the Chkalovsky military airfield outside Moscow on Monday, the Russian Defense Ministry said. It flew in from Ankara.

The plane was greeted by Russian Minister of Defense Sergey Shoigu and Head of Russian Aerospace Forces Victor Bondarev. The silent drill team rendered the killed pilot with military honors.

“During the flight over Russian airspace the plane was accompanied by an escort of fighters," the ministry said in a statement.

The repatriation of the body was arranged after a military funeral service attended by the Russian ambassador and other military officials, Reuters reports.

The dead pilot Oleg Peshkov had a wife and two children. He will be buried in his home town Lipetsk, Russia's west.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmed Davutoglu said on Monday that it would be difficult to prevent airspace incidents “if we continue to have two coalitions fighting in Syria.”

The Turkish PM also said Ankara does not want to escalate further conflict with Moscow over the downed Russian warplane and expressed Turkey’s readiness for dialogue “on all levels.”

The body of the Russian pilot was treated in accordance with the Orthodox Christian tradition, PM Davutoglu told journalists in Ankara.

[END REPORT]

Oleg Peshkov with his wife and daughters

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