Downed Russian plane was Syria’s fault, Netanyahu tells Putin

While Moscow initially blamed Israel for a Russian aircraft that was shot down in Syria, Netanyahu reportedly told Putin that Syria was “responsible for shooting down [the] plane.”

By: TPS and World Israel News

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin over the telephone on Tuesday, following Monday’s incident which saw Syrian missile defense systems shoot down a Russian military plane carrying 15 soldiers, shortly after the Israeli Air Force carried out an airstrike against an Iranian munitions base in Latakia.

On Monday, while responding to an Israeli airstrike, Syrian missile defense systems shot down a Russian plane carrying 15 Russian soldiers over the Mediterranean sea. Moscow blamed Israel for the incident, claiming that they were not briefed in time about the planned strike.

Netanyahu expressed his regret, but insisted that the blame rests with Syria, offering Israel’s full cooperation to Russia in investigating the incident.

While the Kremlin communicated to Israel that the strike violated Syria’s sovereignty and breached Russian-Israeli compacts regarding protocol in Syria, Putin reportedly was receptive to Netanyahu’s explanation, but warned the Israeli prime minister “not to allow such situations in the future,” according to Times of Israel.

Israel’s air strikes in Syria, of which there have been hundreds, target Syrian military facilities that manufacture weapons destined for the Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon, in addition to destroying Iranian military assets and eliminating members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps stationed in Syria.

On Tuesday, Putin confirmed that Israel had not shoot down the Russian plane, referring to the incident as the product of “tragic accidental circumstances.”