Israeli Jets May Lose Freedom Of Action In Syria Due To Russia's Il-20 Incident - Lawmaker

Israeli lawmaker Ksenia Svetlova told Sputnik on Tuesday that it would be difficult for Israel to resolve the tragic incident with the Russian jet, which was shot down in Syria, without damaging freedom of action Israeli warplanes enjoyed in Syrian skies due to relevant arrangements with Russia.

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th September, 2018) Israeli lawmaker Ksenia Svetlova told Sputnik on Tuesday that it would be difficult for Israel to resolve the tragic incident with the Russian jet, which was shot down in Syria, without damaging freedom of action Israeli warplanes enjoyed in Syrian skies due to relevant arrangements with Russia.

The Russian Hmeimim airbase had lost contact with the crew of the Russian Il-20 military aircraft late on Monday during the attack of four Israeli F-16 aircraft on Syrian targets in the province of Latakia. The Russian Defense Ministry said earlier on Tuesday that the Israeli military deliberately created a dangerous situation by using 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.

"Details of this tragic incident are still being clarified, but I wrote three years ago when Russian involvement in Syrian conflict just began, that it was almost impossible to completely avoid conflicts and incidents in such a small airspace ... The continuation of cooperation is important for both sides, and I would like to hope for a diplomatic solution to the crisis, but the question is what will happen to Israel's freedom of action in the Syrian skies. We have already heard voices in Moscow .

.. urging to limit the Israeli freedom of action in the Syrian skies," Svetlova said.

The incident claimed the lives of 15 Russian servicemen. The Russian military has said it regards Israel's provocative actions as hostile and reserves the right to a proper response. The IDF said earlier in the day that Israel would share all information on the incident with Moscow. The IDF expressed regret over the deaths of the Russian troops and put the blame on Damascus and Tehran.

"Anyway it will be difficult for Israel to return to the modus vivendi that existed before the incident," the lawmaker stressed.

Earlier in the day, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed condolences to Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone over the death of the crew of the Il-20, accusing Damascus of the incident.

In autumn 2015, Israel and Russia established a communication channel to protect the aircraft of the two countries from incidents during operations in conflict-torn Syria, where Israeli jets regularly attack Iranian and Hezbollah targets. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, this time the notification of an air strike was received from the Israelis by the hot-line less than a minute before the raid, and it was not enough to bring the Il-20 into a safe zone.