President Vladimir Putin said Russia has recovered the black box of a Russian warplane downed by Turkey last month and will ask foreign specialists to help analyze it.
"I ask you not to open it for the time being," Putin told Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. "Open it only together with foreign experts. Everything needs to be thoroughly documented."
The Kremlin has retaliated with a string of sanctions and reprisals over Turkey's November 24 downing of the Russian jet on Turkey's border with Syria.
Shoigu said the territory where the jet crashed was "liberated" by Syrian special forces from rebel control recently, allowing them to recover the black box.
Putin said the black box would help determine the downed jet's flight path, a subject of dispute between Ankara and Moscow.
Turkey says the Russian jet strayed into its airspace and ignored repeated warnings, while Moscow insists it was flying over Syria.
Putin said the incident has changed Moscow's views of its southern neighbor.
"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," he said.
