The confession of the man who shot and killed the Su-24 pilot.

A Turkish gunman – who is believed to have shot and killed the Russian pilot of the Su-24 as he ejected from the aircraft – has spoken out about the incident.

Alparslan Celik, the perpetrator who shot and killed the Russian pilot. Photo: AA.

“That pilot bombed us five minutes before being shot down by the Turkish plane. Many of our brothers were killed or wounded by those bombs. Deep down, I think there is no place for anyone who bombs Turkmen civilians. Revenge is one of the most natural rights,” said Alparslan Celik, a commander of an opposition Turkmen brigade in Syria.

However, under any circumstances, shooting at Russian pilots is unacceptable. According to Article 42, Protocol I of the 1949 Geneva Convention (amended in 1977), shooting at pilots parachuting from a crashed aircraft constitutes a war crime.

Celik is the person whom the Russian ambassador to Ankara, Andrey Karlov, specifically identified as the one who shot and killed a Russian pilot flying a Su-24 that crashed over northern Syria on November 24. In an interview with the Turkish newspaper Cumhuriyet on December 14, Karlov stated that the perpetrator who killed the Russian pilot was named Celik and was of Turkish origin. “It was Celik. This man stood in front of the camera and made a statement. Then he showed a part of his parachute. Celik spoke Turkish very fluently,” Karlov said.

Tracking down and prosecuting the person who shot the Russian pilot is one of three conditions set by the Russian ambassador for Moscow to consider restoring relations with Türkiye. The other two conditions are that Ankara must issue a formal apology and compensate Russia for the losses it has suffered.

Russia and Türkiye are locked in a heated dispute over Russia's airstrike campaign in northern Syria. Ankara says Moscow is bombing areas inhabited by the Turkmen minority, while the Kremlin insists these are targets of the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) terrorist group.

According to VNA/News