Putin tries to defuse downing of Russian plane off Syria

A Russian reconnaissance aircraft was shot down by Syria forces responding to an Israeli airstrike, killing all 15 people aboard, in what President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday was “a chain of tragic accidental circumstances.”

The downing of the Il-20 highlighted the dangers posed by the conflicting interests of various powers in the crowded skies over Syria and threatened the close security ties between Russia and Israel.

In an effort to maintain that relationship, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu quickly called Putin to express sorrow over the death of the plane’s crew, blamed the plane’s loss squarely on Syria and offered to send Israel’s air force chief to Moscow to share information about the incident.

The Russian military said the plane was hit 35 kilometres (22 miles) offshore late Monday night as it was returning to the Russian air base in Syria.

The incident triggered testy exchanges of blame between Israel and Russia.

The Israeli military said its fighter jets were targeting a Syrian military facility involved in providing weapons for Iran’s proxy Hezbollah militia, noting that it warned Russia of the coming raid in line with de-confliction agreements.

It said the Syrian army launched the missiles that hit the plane when the Israeli jets were already inside Israeli airspace.

But the Russian Defence Ministry said the Israeli warning came less than a minute before the strike, leaving the Russian aircraft in the line of fire.

It pointedly accused the Israeli military of deliberately using the Russian plane as a cover to dodge the Syrian defences and threatened to retaliate.

“The Israeli pilots were using the Russian aircraft as a shield and pushed it into the line of fire of the Syrian air defence,” said Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov.

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu called his Israeli counterpart, Avigdor Lieberman, to declare that “the Israeli side bears full responsibility” for the plane’s downing and to warn that Russia “reserves the right to retaliate.”

But Putin took a more cautious tone, describing the incident as “a chain of tragic accidental circumstances.”

At the same time, he said Russia will respond by “taking additional steps to protect our servicemen and assets in Syria.”