Turkey arrests F-16 pilots who shot down Russian SU24 while Putin expresses support for Erdogan.

Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag has confirmed the arrest of two pilots that downed Russian Su-24 jet in November 2015 in Syria, Haberturk TV channel said on Tuesday. "The pilots that downed the Russian jet were arrested," the TV channel quoted Bozdag as saying. The Turkish Air Force’s F-16 fighter on November 24, 2015 shot down a Russian Sukhoi Su-24M bomber, involved in Russia's antiterrorism operation in Syria, that Ankara claimed violated the country’s airspace on the border with Syria.

The downing of a Russian jet by Turkish military caused a diplomatic row between the two countries, with Russian President Vladimir Putin calling it “a stab in the back,” until Moscow and Ankara agreed to restore relations last month.

On June 27, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, told reporters Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent Russian President Vladimir Putin a message in which he apologized for the downed Su-24 plane and "underscored the readiness to do everything possible for restoration of the traditionally friendly relations between Turkey and Russia." Putin called Turkish President Erdogan after Friday’s coup attempt, deeming it “completely unacceptable” and expressing hope that stability would return, the Kremlin said in a statement. The two leaders plan to meet in August, according to Turkish state media. Read more on Turkey's post military coup massive purges: http://www.dispropaganda.com/#!Erdogan-uses-the-coup-attempt-to-reshape-Turkey-in-his-own-image/c10cg/578e84790cf2fc65e3211117