Turkey Apologizes for Downing Russian Airliner Last Year

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan apologized for shooting down a Russian plane on the border with Syria last year after Turkey said the jet violated its airspace. The incident provoked a crisis in relations between Russia and Turkey and Russia imposed a series of sanctions on Ankara. Turkey hopes the apologies will bring millions of Russian tourists back to Turkey. The fence-mending comes as Israel and Turkey agreed on a reconciliation deal after six years. According to the deal, Israel will pay $21 milllion dollars in compensation to the families of ten Turkish activists killed by Israeli naval commandos after a Turkish-flagged ship tried to break Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip. Erdogan said Turkey received everything it wanted, while Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said the deal improves Israel’s national security.