Russian Il-20 Military Plane Shot Down Over Syria

In light of the downing of the Russian Il-20 plane in Syria last week, the Russian Defense Ministry stated Monday that Moscow would deliver advanced S-300 air defense missile systems to the Syrian army within two weeks in order to increase the security of Russian servicemen stationed in the country.

DUBAI (Sputnik) - Deliveries of S-300 air defense systems by Russia to the Syrian army will damage not only Israel's, but also Turkey's interests, an expert from the UAE-based Al-Mustaqbal think tank, Dr. Shadi Abdel Wahhab, told Sputnik on Monday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russia has taken into account all possible eventualities arising from its upcoming supplies of S-300 air defense systems to Syria, being first and foremost interested in safety of its servicemen and general de-escalation of the situation in the war-tron country, Russian lawmaker Frants Klintsevich said Monday.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Russia’s planned delivery of S-300 air defense systems to the Syrian government will increase the risk to the US-led coalition forces in Syria, a US Department of State official told Sputnik on Monday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russia may supply Syria with other defense equipment in addition to the S-300 air defense system to ensure the safety of its troops following the downing of a Russian Il-20 plane last week, Viktor Bondarev, the chairman of the Russian parliament's upper house Defense and Security Committee, said on Monday.

The Russian Defense Ministry promised to take "adequate" measures to boost the security of Russian servicemen after the Israeli Air Force used the Russian Il-20 as a shield while attacking targets in Syria, which led to the downing of the aircraft by Syrian air defenses last week.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Russian Defense Ministry's Sunday statement putting all the blame for the downing of Russia's Il-20 reconnaissance aircraft in Syria on the Israeli Air Force is justified and balanced, a senior Russian lawmaker, Alexander Sherin, told Sputnik.

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Russia blames Israel for the destruction of the Il-20, which cost the lives of 15 servicemen, after it emerged that around the time if its demise, Israeli fighter jets were in immediate proximity to the Russian plane.

CAIRO (Sputnik) – Israel is guided solely by its military interests in the region, and this factor along with the lack of coordination with the Russian side led to the crash of Russia's Il-20 military plane in Syria, Egyptian military expert Adil Suleiman told Sputnik.

The Israeli Air Force misled Russia by providing wrong information about the area of the planned air strikes in Syria on September 17, thus preventing the Russian Il-20 from moving to a safe zone, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said on Sunday.

During a press conference earlier this week, the Russian Defense Ministry stated that Israel was responsible for the destruction of a Russian military aircraft, which was downed by Syrian air defense systems over the Mediterranean sea when Damascus attempted to repel an Israeli missile attack on Monday.

Russian journalist and political commentator Viktor Marakhovsky explains the difficult choice Israel is going to have to make going forward in the aftermath of the incident that resulted in the loss of a Russian recon plane over Syria with 15 servicemen on board.

Tel Aviv has ordered the commander of the Israeli Air Force to continue talks with his Russian counterparts about the destruction of the Russian Il-20 recon aircraft over Syria. Israel's Defense Ministry maintains that Syria is responsible for the destruction of the plane, which took place during an Israeli air raid on Syrian targets in Latakia.

The destruction of a Russian Il-20 reconnaissance aircraft with 15 airmen onboard has led to questions about Moscow's relations with both Syria and Israel. Speaking to Sputnik, Middle East affairs observer Ali ben Masoud al-Mashani said he was confident that whatever else happens, Russian-Syrian counterterrorism cooperation will continue.

TEL AVIV (Sputnik) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday received a report from Air Force Commander Maj. Gen. Amikam Norkin on the results of his talks in Moscow on the crash of the Russian Il-20 in Syria and instructed him to continue contacts with Russia on this matter, Netanyahu's office said.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed on Thursday with permanent members of the Russian Security Council the security issues of the Russian military personnel in Syria, as well as the results of the September 9 elections in Russia, cooperation with Belarus and a number of other topics, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

According to a Russian Defense Ministry spokesman, the Russian plane in Syria wasn’t hit due to a failure in its friend or foe identification system. Konashenkov added that each state has its own IFF system and Russia doesn’t install its identification systems on armaments exported abroad.

TEL AVIV (Sputnik) - Israeli Air Force Commander Maj. Gen. Amikam Norkin is in Moscow following Monday's crash of a Russian Il-20 aircraft in Syria, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Jonathan Conricus told Sputnik.

Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said he understands Moscow's accusations of involvement in the Russian Il-20 crash, but reiterated that the responsibility for the incident lies on the Syrian militaries.