Pilot of downed jet with Syrian army: Russian envoy

PARIS

One of the two Russian pilots, who ejected from a SU-24 jet after Turkey shot it down for violating its airspace Tuesday, has survived and is now with the Syrian army, Russian ambassador to France said Wednesday.

"According to our latest information, one of our pilots managed to escape and was picked up by the Syrian army," Ambassador Alexander Orlov told Europe1 radio.

About the fate of the other pilot, the ambassador said that he was killed allegedly by forces in the area.

According to Russian media outlets, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that the surviving pilot had been taken to an airbase in Syria’s northwestern Latakia province, adding that the pilot was in good health.

Shoigu said that the rescue operation for the pilot lasted for 12 hours.

He also announced that Russia would be deploying its advanced S-400 air defense missile system at the Khmeimim Airbase in Syria.

On Tuesday, two Turkish F-16 fighter jets on an aerial patrol intercepted a Russian warplane within engagement rules when it intruded into Turkish airspace on the Turkey-Syria border.

The intruding aircraft was warned about the violation 10 times within five minutes before it was shot down.

Russian Defense Ministry confirmed that its Russian SU-24 fighter jet had been shot down, which crashed in the Syrian region of Bayirbucak close to Yayladagi district of southern Hatay province.

NATO confirmed the accuracy of the information that Turkey shared with it about the violation of the Russian warplane.

This was not the first time Russian fighter jets had violated Turkish airspace. In early October, Russian warplanes had breached Turkish airspace for which Russian officials apologized and pledged that no such incident would be repeated; Turkey had also renewed its warning to implement engagement rules, including military response against violations of Turkish airspace.