Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev has supported the establishment of a joint commission to investigate the crash of the Russian Su-24M bomber, punishment of the perpetrators and the resumption of relations between Russia and Turkey, Novosti-Kazakhstan news agency reported.
"No matter how hard this may be, I believe it is necessary to jointly create the commission, quickly finish the investigation, identify those responsible, punish them and admit mistakes, restore the relationship," Nazarbayev said Nov.30 addressing the nation. "I call on our friends in both Russian and Turkey for that."
Turkish-Russian relations have soured dramatically after the downing of a Russian Su-24 jet by Turkey in Syria Nov.24.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the plane was downed by an air-to-air missile launched by a Turkish F-16 jet over Syrian territory. Ankara claimed that it downed the Russian bomber because it violated Turkish airspace. The Russian General Staff and the Syrian Air Defense Command have refuted the claims.
He said that Kazakhstan has been greatly saddened by events occurred between Russia and Turkey.
"So far, we don't know all the different nuances of this question," he said. "But the fact is that the Russian bomber didn't attack Turkey, it was not heading for Turkey, but for war with terrorists. As friends in the struggle, (Russia and Turkey) had to find common ground and didn't have to spoil the relationships that were forming throughout many years."
Nazarbayev said that he had worked for many years to bring the positions of Russia and Turkey closer, make them friendly since the times of Prime Minister of Turkey Suleyman Demirel and Russian President Boris Yeltsin.
"All this, which has been achieved throughout many years, may go down the drain," said the Kazakh leader with regret.