The President of Kyrgyzstan, Almazbek Atambayev, considers it necessary for Turkey to apologize to Moscow for downing the Russian Su-24 warplane, reported RIA Novosti news agency of Russia.

“My main principle is that the best war is worse than the worst peace,” Atambayev stated at his year-end press conference. “Sometimes you have to endure; this is economically and politically beneficial to both sides.”

In the Kyrgyz leader’s words, the decision to shoot down the Russian aircraft was wrong, “even if it had entered Turkey’s [air]space, as they claim, for 17 seconds.”

“The mutual relations, which were built for more than 20 years, should not have been hit for those 17 seconds,” Almazbek Atambayev stressed.

On November 24, the Turkish air force shot down a Russian Su-24 attack aircraft/interdictor nearby the Turkish-Syrian border. The warplane was taking part in the antiterrorism operations in Syria. This incident has led to the ongoing strain in Turkey-Russia relations.