Turkey said on Monday it will not apologize for downing Russian fighter jet last week on the Syrian border, as the Russian leader has rejected a meeting with Turkish counterpart at the climate conference in Paris.

Turkey said on Monday it will not apologize for downing Russian fighter jet last week on the Syrian border, as the Russian leader has rejected a meeting with Turkish counterpart at the climate conference in Paris.

"Protection of our airspace, our border is not only a right but a duty for my government and no Turkish premier or president ... will apologize (for) doing our duty," Turkish premier Ahmet Davutoglu told a joint press conference with NATO head Jens Stoltenberg.

Davutoglu added that "we hope Russia will reconsider these measures in both our interests", referring to the sanctions that Moscow imposed after the shooting down of the jet last week.

"If the Russian side wants to talk, we are ready; if they want more information, we are ready; if they want to normalize relations, we are ready to talk," he said.

Shortly earlier, the Kremlin said that the Russian President Vladimir Putin has rejected a meeting with Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the climate conference in Paris.

"No meeting with Erdogan is planned. There is no discussion of such a meeting," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists.

On November 24, Turkey shot down a Russian Sukhoi Su-24M jet inside Syria, claiming that the aircraft violated the Turkish airspace. Russia rejects Turkey’s claim. The aircraft was on a mission targeting terrorists in Syria.

The aircraft’s two pilots ejected as it was going down in flames. Peshkov was killed by militants in Syria, while the second was picked up by the Syrian army, and has already spoken to Russian media.