jaiind
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A Russian reconnaissance plane that disappeared over the Mediterranean with 15 crew aboard was shot down in error by Syrian forces, the Kremlin has admitted.
Russia said its Il-20 military aircraft was preparing to land at Hmeymim airbase in Latakia province when, at about 8pm GMT on Monday, it disappeared from radar some 20 miles off the Syrian coast.
Without directly apportioning blame, Moscow’s defence ministry initially said the disappearance had taken place during French and Israeli missile strikes in the Latakia area of northwestern Syria, while the US pointed the finger at Syria’s defensive forces.
Later on Tuesday morning the Kremlin said allied Syrian forces had inadvertently downed the plane, but heaped the blame on Israel for “irresponsible actions” – saying the country had launched air strikes by four F-16 jets with just one minute’s warning, triggering the defensive barrage.
There was not enough time to get the Il-20 out of harm’s way, the RIA news agency quoted Russia’s defence ministry as saying. The BBC quoted the ministry as saying: ”Using the Russian airplane as a cover, Israeli pilots put it in the line of fire coming from Syrian air defence systems.”
Israel said it would not comment on “foreign reports”.
Israel and Russia have maintained a dedicated hotline to prevent their air forces clashing over Syria for several years, with Israeli officials having previously praised its effectiveness.
Following Monday’s loss of life, Russia’s defence ministry was reported as saying it reserved the right to take “appropriate measures” over what it called Israel’s deliberate provocation, adding it did not believe the Israeli military was unaware of the reconnaissance aircraft’s location.
Syrian state media reported the country’s coastal city of Latakia had come under attack by “enemy missiles” and that Syrian defence batteries had fired in response.
According to the BBC’s foreign media monitoring service, Syrian media reported explosions over Latakia shortly before 7pm.
Unnamed US officials told reporters that Washington also believed the electronic reconnaissance plane had been mistakenly shot down by Syria, Russia’s ally.
Moscow has been a key backer of Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad, during the brutal civil war that has raged since 2011.
Russian and Iranian support has helped Mr Assad attain near-victory in the conflict at the cost of hundreds of thousands of lives, including many civilians. United Nations reports said Syrian government forces had used chemical weapons numerous times, including at least three instances in 2018.
The disappearance of the Russian aircraft came after Vladimir Putin forged a surprise agreement with Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan that would forestall military operations to retake Idlib, the last rebel holdout.
Turkey has been involved in the war on the side of the opposition to Mr Assad’s regime, though has fought against Isis and Kurdish opposition forces.
Mr Erdogan called the agreement a “memorandum of understanding”. The two leaders agreed at a summit in Sochi, on the Black Sea, to set up a demilitarised areabetween rebel and government forces in Idlib.
Russia said its Il-20 military aircraft was preparing to land at Hmeymim airbase in Latakia province when, at about 8pm GMT on Monday, it disappeared from radar some 20 miles off the Syrian coast.
Without directly apportioning blame, Moscow’s defence ministry initially said the disappearance had taken place during French and Israeli missile strikes in the Latakia area of northwestern Syria, while the US pointed the finger at Syria’s defensive forces.
Later on Tuesday morning the Kremlin said allied Syrian forces had inadvertently downed the plane, but heaped the blame on Israel for “irresponsible actions” – saying the country had launched air strikes by four F-16 jets with just one minute’s warning, triggering the defensive barrage.
There was not enough time to get the Il-20 out of harm’s way, the RIA news agency quoted Russia’s defence ministry as saying. The BBC quoted the ministry as saying: ”Using the Russian airplane as a cover, Israeli pilots put it in the line of fire coming from Syrian air defence systems.”
Israel said it would not comment on “foreign reports”.
Israel and Russia have maintained a dedicated hotline to prevent their air forces clashing over Syria for several years, with Israeli officials having previously praised its effectiveness.
Following Monday’s loss of life, Russia’s defence ministry was reported as saying it reserved the right to take “appropriate measures” over what it called Israel’s deliberate provocation, adding it did not believe the Israeli military was unaware of the reconnaissance aircraft’s location.
Syrian state media reported the country’s coastal city of Latakia had come under attack by “enemy missiles” and that Syrian defence batteries had fired in response.
According to the BBC’s foreign media monitoring service, Syrian media reported explosions over Latakia shortly before 7pm.
Unnamed US officials told reporters that Washington also believed the electronic reconnaissance plane had been mistakenly shot down by Syria, Russia’s ally.
Moscow has been a key backer of Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad, during the brutal civil war that has raged since 2011.
Russian and Iranian support has helped Mr Assad attain near-victory in the conflict at the cost of hundreds of thousands of lives, including many civilians. United Nations reports said Syrian government forces had used chemical weapons numerous times, including at least three instances in 2018.
The disappearance of the Russian aircraft came after Vladimir Putin forged a surprise agreement with Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan that would forestall military operations to retake Idlib, the last rebel holdout.
Turkey has been involved in the war on the side of the opposition to Mr Assad’s regime, though has fought against Isis and Kurdish opposition forces.
Mr Erdogan called the agreement a “memorandum of understanding”. The two leaders agreed at a summit in Sochi, on the Black Sea, to set up a demilitarised areabetween rebel and government forces in Idlib.
