Putin snubs Erdogan in Paris as pilot's body returns to Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin snubbed a meeting with Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Paris on Monday as the body of a pilot killed when Ankara downed one of Moscow's warplanes was flown home.

Turkish authorities, meanwhile, again pledged not to apologize over last Tuesday's downing of the Russian jet as Moscow rolled out its sanctions aimed at exacting economic revenge on Ankara.

Putin and Erdogan have been locked in a furious war of words since the incident and the Kremlin strongman rejected the Turkish leader's offer of face-to-face talks on the sidelines of a climate conference in the French capital.

"No meeting with Erdogan is planned. There is no discussion of such a meeting," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists.

The downing of the Russian jet on the Turkey-Syria border -- the first time a NATO member has shot down a Russian plane since 1952 -- has seen ties shattered between the two rival players in the Syria conflict...
 AFP
NEWS.GR
30/11/15
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Related:

• Turkey will not apologise for downing Russian fighter jet (Ahmet Davutoglu)

• Body of Russian pilot killed in Turkey to be sent home

• Russia entitled to military response to Turkey (Duma)

• General: Unbekannte Gruppen suchten nach Co-Piloten von abgeschossenem Jet. Erstaunlich sei die schnelle Bereitschaft türkischer Medien, über den Abschuss zu berichten