Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday announced the black box of the Russian fighter jet shot down by Turkey last month has been recovered, and promised to have foreign experts take part in analyzing its contents.
“I ask you not to open it for the time being,” Putin told Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu when presented with the black box at a meeting, according to Russia news agencies cited by AFP.
“Open it only together with foreign experts, carefully determine everything," ordered the Russian leader.
"Black boxes" are the crucial components of any aircraft which record the plane's movements and technical settings at any given time in the Flight Data Recorder, as well as audio from the cockpit in the Cockpit Voice Recorder.
The downing of the jet on November 24 has thrown Russia and Turkey into a diplomatic crisis, with Moscow sanctioning Turkish imports, businesses and workers.
According to Shoigu, Syrian special forces had "liberated" from rebel control the territory near the Turkish border where the jet was downed, allowing the black box to be recovered.
Putin said the black box would show where exactly the jet was downed and what its flight path was.
Turkey and Russia have fiercely argued about this point, with Ankara claiming the jet breached its airspace and ignored numerous warnings, and Moscow saying it never went over the border.
However, Putin warned that regardless of the findings, Russia's stance vis-a-vis Turkey has irreversibly been altered.
"Whatever we learn (from the black box - ed.) won’t change our attitude to what the Turkish authorities did,” said Putin. "We used to treat Turkey not only as our friend but also as an ally in the fight against terrorism, and nobody expected this low, treacherous stab in the back.”