PM Davutoğlu: Turkey Will Not Apologize To Russia

Prime Ahmet Davutoğlu stated on Monday that Turkey will not apologize to Russia over shooting of a Russian warplane which violated Turkish airspace on Nov. 24. following a meeting with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels.

Speaking to the reporters, Davutoğlu said “No country should ask us to apologize. The protection of our land borders, our airspace, is not only a right, it is a duty. We apologize for committing mistakes, not for doing our duty”. He expressed his thanks to the NATO and Stoltenberg for supporting Turkey’s stance in the incident.

Davutoğlu further stated that such incidents continued to be a risk as long as Russia and the US-led coalition bombing Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Syria worked separately. "If there are two coalitions functioning in the same airspace against ISIL, these types of incidents will be difficult to prevent," he noted.

“We also made very clear that the Turkish-Syria border is a national security issue for Turkey. So it was a defensive action,”prime minister reiterated.

Criticizing Russia for shooting moderate dissidents and civilians, Davutoğlu said injured people whose bodies were completely burned were transferred to Turkey at the end of bombardment conducted by Russia in Adlib, where the ISIL is not active.









SHOT LIST
Monday, November 30, 2015 SOURCE: CIHAN
Explanation by Davutoğlu
Duration: 11: 02