Putin cautious on loss of plane
A Russian reconnaissance aircraft was shot down by Syrian forces responding to an Israeli airstrike, killing all 15 people aboard, in what President Vladimir Putin said yesterday 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 The Russian military said the plane was hit 35 kilometres offshore late Monday night, local time, 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 deconfliction agreements. It said the Syrian army launched the missiles that hit the plane when the Israeli jets were already inside Israeli airspace. about the incident. 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 Major General 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 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’’.
Netanyahu, who has maintained warm personal ties with Putin and frequently travelled to Russia for Syria-focused talks, noted the need for Russia and Israel to continue coordinating their action in Syria. At the same time, he emphasised Israel would not tolerate the Iranian military presence in Syria.
Putin told Netanyahu that the Israeli raid violated Syria’s sovereignty and breached the RussianIsraeli de-confliction agreement. He urged the Israeli side ‘‘not to the right to allow such situations to happen again,’’ according to the Kremlin.
Israel has refrained from taking sides in the Syrian civil war, but it has carried out scores of airstrikes against archenemy Iran and its Shiite proxy Hezbollah.
Moscow has played a delicate diplomatic game of maintaining friendly relations with both Israel and Iran.
In July, Moscow said that it struck a deal with Tehran to keep its fighters 85 kilometres from the Golan Heights to accommodate Israeli security concerns.
In response to Israeli worries, Russia also has shelved plans to arm Syria with sophisticated air defence assets, such as the longrange S-300 systems that could pose a significant threat to Israeli aircraft.
The downing of could change that. – the plane