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Russia asks Israel to give more explanation on plane downing in Syria

Friday, 21 September 2018 10:08 AM [ Last Update: Friday, 21 September 2018 10:20 AM ]

An Ilyushin Il-20M reconnaissance plane takes off from Moscow.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry has urged Israel to provide further explanations on the deadly crash of a Russian military plane in the Syrian province of Latakia, which was shot down as a result of the Israeli pilots’ unprofessional actions.

Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on Thursday said Russian experts had confirmed the actions of Israeli pilots resulted in the downing of the aircraft by the Syrian air defenses and deaths of 15 Russian servicemen.

She stressed that Israeli pilots were behaving in an unprofessional manner at the very least, saying that Russia still needed to hear more “explanations from Israel”.

Her comments came after an Israeli delegation led by Amikam Norkin, the regime’s air force commander, traveled to Moscow on Thursday with information about the crash. However, the delegation’s explanations apparently failed to convince the Russian government.

On the same day, the Russian Embassy in Tel Aviv lashed out at Israel for its “irresponsible and unfriendly actions,” and pinned the blame on Israel’s Air Force, which was conducting aerial assaults against Syrian army positions when the incident happened.

PressTV-Russian embassy blasts Israel for Syria plane tragedy

As Israel’s air force commander visits Moscow, the Russian embassy in Tel Aviv takes to Twitter to slam the regime’s ‘unfriendly’ acts that caused a fatal plane crash in Syria.

“Moscow views as irresponsible and unfriendly actions of Israeli Air Force, which exposed Russian Il-20 aircraft to danger and led to death of 15 servicemen,” the Russian embassy said in a tweet.

“Russia would take all necessary measures to eliminate threat to life and security of our military fighting against terrorism,” it added.

The Israel regime has over the past years carried out numerous strikes against Syrian army positions in what is widely viewed as an attempt to help the terrorists survive in the face of successful Syrian army operations. It has defied criticisms of its unlawful military actions against Syrian soil. The regime's minister for military affairs, Avigdor Lieberman, said Thursday that the regime would not stop such attacks, but would do more to “de-conflict” them with Russian forces.

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