The Russian foreign Ministry had invited Ukrainian pilot, put in Turkey, beaten by hail the plane to Russia. This was reported on the page of the foreign Ministry in Facebook.
“The Ukrainian pilot of the Turkish company Atlas Global Alexander Akopov, 27 Jul heroically planted the hail-damaged aircraft in Istanbul, was heavily criticized on the Internet for alleged sympathy for Russia,” — said the Minister. The occasion was a profile picture in Facebook Akopova — the image is a collage of photos of the account holder and the Minister of foreign Affairs of Russia Sergey Lavrov.
“Alexander, what you did, out of politics. Thank you for your professionalism! If you continue You will be criticized at Home, come — you are always welcome”, — stated in the message.
Akopov almost blindly landed the Airbus A320 in the international airport Ataturk in Istanbul. The ship was caught in a thunderstorm with hail, which damaged the glass in the cockpit and the forward part of the aircraft. On Board were 127 people. On 29 July the President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko Akopov was awarded the order “For courage”.
The pilot has been in the network was roundly criticized for sympathy for Russia. Avatar pilot drew the attention of the human rights activist Sergey Naumovich. “I don’t know about you, but for me after seeing the completely changed attitude toward the “hero” of”, — he wrote. “Put Lavrov, then it is his idol, and, accordingly, it is separable”, said another user.
Akopov has rejected charges of separatism and said that Lavrov to put yourself in the picture due to the fact that colleagues noted its external similarity to the Russian foreign Minister, even before the conflict in the Donbass, and change the photos is not going to.