Cameron to Consider Putin's Su-24 Black Box Invitation

Downing Street said in a statement that UK Prime Minister pledged to consider Russian President Vladimir Putin's invitation to engage British specialists in the decoding of the flight recorder from the Russian Su-24 jet downed by the Turkish Air Force over Syria.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – UK Prime Minister David Cameron pledged to consider Russian President Vladimir Putin's invitation to engage British specialists in the decoding of the flight recorder from the Russian Su-24 jet downed by the Turkish Air Force over Syria, Downing Street said in a statement, obtained by Sputnik, on Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, the Kremlin’s press service said Putin invited British specialists to take part in the Su-24 black box decoding.

"The Prime Minister said he would consider President Putin’s request to send British experts to assist the investigation," the statement reads.

The prime minister's office added that both leaders agreed it was important to wait for the investigation results to establish what had happened.

"The Prime Minister expressed his condolences to President Putin over the recent death of the Russian pilot," the statement added.

On November 24, the Russian Su-24 aircraft crashed in Syria after being downed by a Turkish jet. Ankara said that the attack came in response to the violation of Turkish airspace by the Su-24. Both the Russian General Staff and the Syrian Air Defense Command confirmed that the Russian bomber never crossed into Turkish airspace.

On Tuesday, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu showed Putin the black box of the downed Su-24 recovered at the site of the crash by the Syrian special forces. Putin said that the black box should be opened only in the presence of the international experts.