Russia says one of downed plane’s pilots alive, held by Syrian army

PanARMENIAN.Net - Russia's ambassador to France says a Russian military pilot shot down over Turkey is in the hands of the Syrian army, the Associated Press reports.

Ambassador Alexander Orlov said on Europe-1 radio Wednesday, November 25, that one of the pilots was wounded, then killed on the ground by jihadists.

He says the other "managed to escape and be rescued by the Syrian army." He didn't elaborate.

Orlov denied Turkish government statements that the Russian plane had been warned repeatedly about an airspace violation before shooting it down plane.

Orlov accused Turkey of being an "accomplice" of Islamic State extremists and playing an ambiguous role in Syria's civil war.

However he played down concerns of escalation of violence among the international players involved in Syria.

Turkish fighter jets shot down a warplane near the Syrian border after it violated Turkey's airspace on Tuesday.

Russia's Defense Ministry said the downed jet is a Russian one, refuting the news that the plane crossed the Syrianborder into Turkish skies.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has called Turkey “accomplices of terrorists” and warned of “serious consequences” after a Turkish F-16 jet shot down a Russian warplane on Tuesday, the first time a Nato country and Moscow have exchanged direct fire over the crisis in Syria, the Guardian reports.

The Russian president, speaking before a meeting with King Abdullah II of Jordan in Sochi, said the plane had been shot down over Syrian airspace and fell 4km inside Syria. Putin said it was “obvious” the plane posed no threat to Turkey.