Israel Could Partly Conceal Data On Russia Il-20 Crash To Minimize Responsibility - Expert

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 23rd September, 2018) Israel could have provided the Russian Foreign Ministry with incomplete information on the incident with the Russian Il-20 military jet, which was shot down in Syria earlier in the week, in a bid to minimize own responsibility for the tragedy, Alexander Tazekhulakhov, who served as a regional deputy air defense commander in Russia from 2005 to 2009, said on Sunday.

The Il-20 military aircraft, which was 22 miles off the Syrian coast, was shot down on Monday, while returning to the Hmeimim airbase. Meanwhile, four Israeli F-16 aircraft were bombing Syrian targets in the province of Latakia. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Israel notified Russia of the airstrikes only a minute before their start. The ministry holds that the Israeli pilots used the Russian aircraft as a shield against Syrian air defense systems. As a result, the Il-20 jet was downed by a missile launched by Syria's S-200 air defense system. The incident claimed the lives of 15 Russian servicemen.

"Of course, they could have concealed something. Agreements on mutual warning are in place, because flight safety is a priority, but it is very difficult to establish the fact whether they warned us a minute before [the attack] or earlier. The Israeli side can claim that it called [the Russian side] an hour before, and our duty officer did not pick up the phone. This is a very sticky situation, which is very difficult to clear up.

We need the originals of the records in the logbook, because such warnings are to be recorded in the logbook, the sound is recorded on tape," Tazekhulakhov said.

The expert suggested that each of the parties involved in the incident risked being engaged in pointing fingers to minimize own responsibility, expressing confidence that the Russian Defense Ministry would thoroughly probe the situation and establish the facts.

There are no grounds to question the ministry's statement that Israel had given a warning only a minute before launching the attack on Syria, he added.

"There is a group [of Russian forces in Syria], there are officials who are responsible for flight safety. I can't assume that they could have provided the Defense Minister or the General Staff with some incorrect situation. I think the whole complex of problems was first reported to the Defense Ministry, and only after that the ministry issued an official statement," Tazekhulakhov stressed.

Earlier in the week, a source in the Israeli military command said that Israel had allegedly warned Russia of its attack on Syria much earlier than a minute before it was launched, as Moscow holds. On Thursday, an Israeli military delegation headed by Israeli Air Force Commander Amikam Norkin arrived in Moscow to share its information on the incident.