Alleged killer of Turkey-downed Russian jet pilot ‘roaming free,’ Russian envoy says

ISTANBUL

DHA photo

Russian Ambassador to Turkey Andrei Karlov has said the alleged killer of a Russian pilot whose plane was shot down by Turkey late last year was “roaming free” in Turkey, reiterating the Russian call on authorities to take action over his arrest.

“The man [Alparslan Çelik] is getting on TV channels, making statements to newspapers and roaming around freely. Yet, Ankara does nothing to arrest this Nationalist Movement Party [MHP] supporter,” Karlov told the Russian Rossiya 24 TV channel.

The ambassador also added Moscow has repeatedly called on Ankara to arrest Çelik.

“We are waiting for an official apology from the Turkish side [and for Turkey to] punish the perpetrators and compensate for the damage that was done to our state,” Karlov was quoted as saying by the channel’s website.

Çelik, who is wanted by Moscow for allegedly killing Russian pilot Oleg Peshkov near the Turkish-Syrian border in late 2015, had appeared at a funeral ceremony in Istanbul on Jan. 28.

“I am here and there. I am going and returning. And now, I came for the funeral ceremony and I will go again,” he said. 

Çelik also said that he had “no fear” of the Russians, speaking to Doğan News Agency a day after the funeral, as he commented on reports that he was on the hit-list of Russia’s intelligence agency, 

“When I went to the Turkmen Mountains about two-and-a-half years ago, I went with faith in God. It was he who gave our soul and it is he who takes it away. We are fighting there with this faith. Everyone’s day of death is already decided and mine is too... So I definitely do not have such fear. We will continue our struggle until our last soldier, our last breath and our last drop of blood [is gone],” he said.