The Assistance League of Defense Enterprises has proposed that a street in Moscow be renamed to commemorate the Russian Su-24 fighter-bomber pilot shot down in Syria, the RIA Novosti news agency reported Wednesday.
A petition to rename 7th Rostovsky Pereulok — where the Turkish Embassy is situated — in honor of Oleg Peshkov has been published for voting on the Russian Social Initiative (ROI) website, RIA Novosti said.
League president and First Deputy Chairman of State Duma Committee on Industry Vladimir Gutenev had called upon Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin to support the move.
The Defense Ministry has approved the initiative and expressed willingness to aid the construction of a memorial, RIA Novosti said.
“When our proposal gathers 100,000 signatures, we can implement it. Those who defend our country in the war on terrorism should stay in the memory now and forever,” Gutenev said, RIA Novosti reported.
The fighter-bomber was downed by a Turkish F-16 fighter jet near the Syrian border on Nov. 24, 2015. The incident, which President Vladimir Putin called "a stab in the back," was followed by a package of economic measures imposed on Turkey by the Kremlin.
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