Turkish president called Putin after Su-24 downing: Kremlin

The Kremlin confirmed Friday that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had indeed tried to call his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin after the downing of Russia's fighter jet by Turkey.

"Yes, it was about seven or eight hours after the incident," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, adding that Putin had been informed about the call.

Erdogan said Thursday in an interview with France 24 TV channel that he had tried to call Putin after the incident, but could not reach him.

On Thursday, however, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov denied there had been such a call.

Moreover, the Turkish president said he had also requested a meeting with Putin at next week's United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris, but has not received a reply from the Russian side.

"The request has also been transmitted to the president," Peskov said without clarifying whether the meeting would take place.

Turkey-Russia relations have plummeted after the downing incident, with Ankara claiming that the Russian Su-24 warplane had violated its air space.

Denying the allegations, Putin has demanded a high-level apology from the Turkish leadership and a compensation for the damage. Russia's Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has ordered the government to draft possible economic sanctions against Turkey. Endi