Erdogan Has ‘Every Reason to Be Sorry for Downing Russian Aircraft’

Russian pilots have “at times” crossed into Israeli air space while conducting flights over Syria, however the incidents have never led to any drastic consequences, similar to the Turkish downing of Russia's Su-24 bomber, due to ‘excellent security coordination’ between the two states, according to a top Israeli defense official.

Turkey should improve its security coordination with other countries to avoid future incidents, similar to the one with the Russian bomber, gunned down in Syrian airspace.

“Russian air force pilots at times cross into Israeli air space,” Amos Gilad, the director of the political-security division in the Israeli Defense Ministry claimed in his interview with The Times of Israel newspaper.

“[But] thanks to the excellent security coordination [between Israel and Russia], which started right after the meeting between [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and [Russian President Vladimir] Putin [two months ago], and in which defined areas of operation were set, the Israel Defense Forces and the Russian military agreed on security agreements,” he added.

“If there is a violation [of Israeli airspace], we know what to do and how to prevent an escalation,” noted the defense official.

He also addressed the Russia-Turkey standoff over the plane incident, saying that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan “has every reason to be sorry” for downing the aircraft.

Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon also acknowledged “that a Russian jet had breached Israeli airspace recently, and that the matter was immediately fixed through communications channels” that exist between the two countries.

“I remind you that about a year ago we shot down a Syrian Sukhoi-24 plane that penetrated into our territory, and we also shot down an unmanned aerial vehicle,” Ya’alon said in an interview with Israel Radio.

“When we understood that the Russians were planning to act inside Syria, we immediately met – also the prime minister – with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, including the [Israeli] chief of staff and the assistant chief of staff…we created an open channel for coordination so as to prevent misunderstandings, because Russian planes are not trying to attack us and therefore it is not necessary to automatically – even if there is a mistake – shoot them down.”

A Russian plane had reportedly entered about one mile (1.6 km) into Israeli territory, after which “the Russians were immediately contacted and the plane immediately returned to Syrian territory,” he said.

Apparently it was a navigation error by the pilot, who was flying along the Golan Heights.

Ya’alon also commented on Israeli-Russian cooperation with regards to Syria.

“From the beginning, of course, [the Russians] notify when they are nearing our territory; it’s part of the coordination channel and we don’t hamper them from acting and we don’t interfere as a policy,” he said. “This is what happens in Syria and it’s good that it’s like that, they also don’t hamper us from flying and acting according to our interests.”