“I think if there is a party that needs to apologize, it is not us,” Erdoğan said in an exclusive interview with CNN International on Nov. 26. “Those who violated our airspace are the ones who need to apologize. Our pilots and our armed forces, they simply fulfilled their duties, which consisted of responding to … violations of the rules of engagement. I think this is the essence.”

Earlier the same day, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Turkey still had not apologized for the downing of the Russian warplane or given assurances that “the culprits of this crime” would be punished.