Russia has not yet considered withdrawing its ambassador from Ankara in the wake of yesterday's downing by Turkey of the Russian Su-24 jet, a source in the Russian Foreign Ministry has told TASS.
"At this stage, the question of removing the Russian ambassador has not been considered. We are waiting for an explanation from the Turkish side," the Foreign Ministry source said.
Russia's Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu has now confirmed that the second Russian pilot from the downed Su-24 jet has been rescued and returned to a base.
The man who was rescued was the jet's navigator, Shoigu said.
He was rescued by Russian special forces and the Syrian army in an operation that lasted 12 hours and which concluded at 3.40 Moscow time, or 12.40 GMT.
The navigator has now been returned to the base, and is "alive and well."
"The operation has been completed successfully. The navigator was returned to our base. He is alive and well. I want to thank all our guys, who worked all night at great risk. I reported the successful operation to the Commander in Chief. He asked [me] to pass on thanks to all the personnel who took part in the operation," Shoigu said.
The TASS news agency has more details on Russian President Putin's announcement that anti-aircraft systems will be sent to the Russian Hmeymim air base in Latakia province in Syria.
Russia has announced this morning that it will send its S-300 and S-400 anti-aircraft systems to Latakia.
TASS quoted Putin as saying:
"The S-300 air defense system will be sent to our air force base in Syria; I hope that this and other measures (this is not the only measure that we will take) will be enough to safeguard our pilots.
I want to say that we, of course, are going to treat what happened very seriously and we will use all means to ensure safety."
Russian President Vladimir Putin has backed up his Foreign Ministry's recommendation that Russian citizens refrain from traveling to Turkey, the Russian media reports.
"After such tragic events as the destruction of our aircraft and the death of a pilot, this is a necessary measure, and the Foreign Ministry is right to warn our citizens of the danger," Putin said.
There is yet more Russian military build up in Syria in response to the Su-24 jet downing by Turkey.
In addition to announcing plans to send S-400 anti-aircraft systems to Syria's Latakia province, Moscow has also declared this morning that it is sending the Moskva guided missile cruiser to Syria, in the wake of yesterday's downing by Turkey of a Russian Su-24 jet.
Russia is prepared to create a "single General Staff" to fight the Islamic State group in Syria, that could include France, the United States and even Turkey, Russia's ambassador to France has told the Europe 1 radio station, according to pro-Kremlin news site RIA Novosti.
Alexander Orlov said that such a coalition could take "various forms."
"The first is coordination, and that is necessary, but we are ready to go further, and to plan attacks together on IS positions and create, to this end, a single General Staff with the participation of France, the United States, and all countries who are prepared to participate in the coalition," Orlov said.
Russia is to send its S-400 Triumf anti-aircraft weapon system to the Hmeymim airbase in Syria's Latakia province, government daily Rossiskaya Gazeta is reporting this morning.
The S-400 is Russia's latest generation anti-aircraft system and is an upgraded version of the S-300. It can operate using more than four types of surface-to-air missile.
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says that his country does not want "escalation" after the downing of the Russian Su-24 jet in Syria yesterday, AFP have just reported.
From our news desk:
Russia's ambassador to France has said a Russian pilot missing in Syria after his plane was shot down by a Turkish jet on November 24 has been recovered and sent to a Russian military base in Syria.
Ambassador Aleksandr Orlov told Europe 1 radio on November 25 that the pilot managed to evade capture by rebels fighting against the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and was "picked up by the Syrian Army."
Orlov did not comment on the pilot's identity or health.
One Russian pilot was killed on November 24 after a Russian Su-24 warplane was shot down by a Turkish Air Force jet along the border with Syria. Ankara maintains the Russian jet violated Turkish airspace and ignored 10 warnings.
Moscow says the jet was in Syrian airspace and has accused Turkey of protecting terrorists by shooting down the jet.
The Su-24 was part of an ongoing Russian air campaign that Moscow says is targeting Islamic State militants. The United States and other countries say Moscow's air strikes are mostly targeting anti-Assad rebels and are aimed at propping up his government.
That concludes our live-blogging of Islamic State for Tuesday, November 24. Check back here tomorrow morning for more of our continuing coverage.