Putin, Netanyahu Discuss Il-20 Incident, Russian Response In Phone Talks

Umer Jamshaid Published September 24, 2018 | 08:42 PM

Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed in phone talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday the recent incident with a Russian Il-20 plane in Syria, and measures taken by Moscow to ensure safety of Russian military personnel in the war-torn country, the Kremlin press service said.

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 24th September, 2018) Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed in phone talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday the recent incident with a Russian Il-20 plane in Syria, and measures taken by Moscow to ensure safety of Russian military personnel in the war-torn country, the Kremlin press service said.

"The leaders continued the discussion of the circumstances surrounding the incident, considering that the information provided by the Israeli military about the operation of their aircraft over the Syrian territory differs from with the conclusions by the Russian Defense Ministry," the press service said in a statement.

"The Russian side believes that the actions of the Israeli Air Force were the main cause of the tragedy," the statement said.

According to the statement, the Russian president stressed that the decisions taken by Moscow to strengthen combat capabilities of the Syrian air defenses "adequately reflect the current situation and are aimed primarily at preventing any potential threat to the lives of Russian servicemen performing tasks on combating global terrorism.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced earlier in the day that Moscow will supply Syria with S-300 air defense systems a as well as with automated fire-control systems following the downing of a Russian Il-20 reconnaissance plane off the Syrian coast on September 17 that killed 15 servicemen.

Il-20 was 22 miles off the Syrian coast when it was shot down while returning to the Hmeimim airbase. At the same time, four Israeli F-16 aircraft were bombing Syrian targets in Latakia.

The Russian Defense Ministry said last week that the Israeli military deliberately created a dangerous situation by using the Russian military plane as a shield against Syrian air defense systems.