US, Russia jets came within visual range over Syria: Pentagon
For the first time since the onset of Moscow’s air campaign in Syria, Russian and American fighter jets have come within visual range from each other over the Arab country, the US military says.
In a Pentagon briefing on Tuesday, US Army Colonel Steve Warren, a spokesman for the US-led military campaign in the region, said two American and two Russian aircraft "entered the same battle space" on Saturday, getting within miles of each other, according to Reuters.
The incident took place on the same day Moscow and Washington held talks on military safety protocols to avoid such encounters while pressing ahead with their rivaling military campaigns in Syria.
In an earlier encounter this month, two US F-16s had to reroute their flight paths to avoid getting engaged with Russian warplanes.
Warren accused Russia of repeatedly breaking air patrols and getting close to American unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or drones.
"We've seen instances where ... one of our UAVs will sort of come nearby and the Russian will break his pattern and come over and take a close look at the drone, or the UAV," the colonel added.
‘Russians asked US jet for ID’
Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Wednesday that a Russian Sukhoi Su-30 fighter jet providing air support for a large Syrian offensive had to approach a US fighter jet and establish visual contact with it.
Ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov said that on October 10, a Su-30SM fighter jet on a support mission in Aleppo province, detected radiation emitted from an unidentified aircraft and approached it.
Once visual contact was established with the US aircraft, the Su-30SM rejoined the task force group to continue the mission. According to a Russian pilot, the distance between the aircraft was 2-3km.
Konashenkov said that the move was not meant to scare off the American crew.
US Defense Secretary Ash Carter said on Tuesday that Washington expects an agreement with the Russian military on implementing air safety protocols in the Syrian sky to avoid possible collisions.
"Even as we continue to disagree on Syria policy, we should be able to at least agree on making sure our airmen are as safe as possible," Carter said.
The Pentagon have been carrying out its own campaign of airstrikes in Syria, allegedly pounding Daesh positions inside the Arab country along with its so-called coalition partners.
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