Pro-Kurdish Official: Ankara's Downing of Russian Su-24 Bomber 'Erroneous'

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Turkey should not have downed the Russian Su-24 bomber over Syrian airspace and an exit out of the Russian-Turkish crisis in relations needs to be found, co-chairman of Turkey’s pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP) Selahattin Demirtas said Wednesday.

“We criticized the government’s actions when it downed the Russian plane,” Demirtas said during a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow.

“Problems between states will always arise, but it’s necessary to leave the door open for a political and diplomatic settlement,” Demirtas added.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu criticized the opposition politician for cooperating "with those whom Turkey experiences problems with."

Russian-Turkish ties deteriorated following the downing of the Russian Su-24 aircraft by a Turkish F-16 fighter in Syria on November 24. Ankara said it had fired an air-to-air missile in response to a violation of Turkish airspace. The Russian General Staff and the Syrian Air Defense Command have both said that the Su-24 never crossed into Turkish airspace.

Russia has imposed a number of economic measures on Turkey in response to the incident President Vladimir Putin characterized as a "stab in the back." The measures, including bans or restrictions on the activities of Turkish organizations in Russia and curbs on Turkish citizens' employment in Russian firms, take effect on January 1.