As the row between Turkey and Russia continues, Ankara has challenged Moscow to prove its claim that the Eurasian country shot down a Russian plane in order to protect its oil trade with Islamic State.
Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said this while responding to the accusation by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who also said last week’s downing of the plane was a “huge mistake”.
The Turkish government has refused to apologise for the incident.
One Russian pilot was killed and the other rescued after Russia’s SU-24 bomber was shot down by a Turkish F-16 fighter on the Syrian border on November 24.
Another Russian marine was killed during the rescue operation in north-western Syria.
Turkey says the jet entered its airspace – an accusation Russia denies.
The incident had led to heated rhetoric between the two countries, with Russia announcing a package of economic sanctions against Turkey.
