Turkey to hand over body of killed Su-24 pilot to Russia

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Sunday that the body of a killed Russian Su-24 pilot had been brought to Turkey late Saturday and would later be handed over to Russia, Sputnik reported.

The pilot of the Su-24 bomber, Oleg Peshkov, was killed by ground fire while parachuting to safety after the warplane had been downed by an air-to-air missile launched by a Turkish F-16 jet on Tuesday.

"The body of the deceased Russian pilot was delivered to us last night across the border. In accordance with their religious tradition, funeral arrangements were carried out by Orthodox priests in the Hatay Province," Davutoglu said.

The Russian Embassy in Turkey has confirmed that the body of the Russian pilot would be brought to Ankara on Sunday and later sent to Russia.

Sources: MENA