Body of Russian pilot in Turkey, preparing handover to Russia: Turkish PM

Turkish PM says the body is being treated in accordance with the Orthodox tradition

The body of the pilot killed when Turkey shot down a Russian jet last week was taken to Turkey late on Saturday to be handed over to Russia on Moscow's request, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Sunday.

The body is being treated in accordance with the Orthodox tradition, Davutoglu said in a news conference in Ankara before going to Brussels for a meeting with EU leaders on migration.



Davutoglu said with different coalitions operating in Syria with differing objectives, similar incidents to that of the downing of the Russian jet could happen unless there was information sharing and coordination.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday signed a decree adopting a series of retaliatory economic measures against Turkey over the downing of a Russian warplane on the Syrian border.

The sanctions are “aimed at ensuring national security and that of Russian citizens” and included a ban on charter flights between the two countries and on Russian businesses hiring any new Turkish nationals as well as import restrictions on certain Turkish goods, according to a text of the decree released by the Kremlin.



Earlier, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had expressed “sadness” over an incident which has severely strained relations, saying that “we wish it had never happened.”

The new measures come into effect from January 1, according to the decree which adds that “organisations under Turkish jurisdiction” will also find their ability to operate in Russia curtailed.