Syrian Army Rescues Pilot of Downed Russian Warplane

One of the two pilots in the Russian warplane shot down by Turkey has been rescued by the Syrian army, Russian authorities disclosed on Wednesday.Defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, said the pilot who was rescued in a 12-hour operation is “safe and sound” at Russia’s air base in Syria.The other pilot was said to have been killed on the ground by rebels after landing with his parachute.Commenting on the incident, Turkey’s President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said Turkey favours “peace, dialogue and diplomacy”.He however expressed no remorse for his country’s actions, saying “no one should expect Turkey to stay silent to border violations or the violation of its rights.”Turkish government said it issued repeated warnings on airspace violation to the Russian plane before bringing it down. But the Russian ambassador to France, Alexander Orlov, has denied this.Russia’s defense ministry also said the aircraft did not leave Syria. The plane crashed in northwestern Syria near the Turkish border.President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, described the incident as “a stab in Russia’s back delivered by terrorist accomplices”. He said that the plane posed no threat to Turkey.