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Israeli ambassador summoned over incident with Russian military jet downed in Syria

The ministry said on Tuesday the Russian military jet was shot down by Syria’s air defense over the Mediterranean Sea because Israel’s F-16 fighter jets used it as cover

MOSCOW, September 18. /TASS/. Israeli Ambassador to Russia Gary Koren was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry on Tuesday over the incident with the Russian Il-20 jet downed in Syria, the ministry told TASS.

"In connection with this situation, Israeli Ambassador Gary Koren was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry," it said.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, on September 17 at about 23:00 Moscow time (GMT + 3) contact was lost with the crew of a Russian Il-20 plane over Syria’s Mediterranean Sea coast that was returning to the Hmeymim airbase.

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Russian defense minister blames Israel for downing military plane over Mediterranean

The ministry said on Tuesday the Russian military jet was shot down by Syria’s air defense over the Mediterranean Sea because Israel’s F-16 fighter jets used it as cover. The Israeli command centers and the F-16s’ pilots could not but see the Russian plane, which was approaching the runway from an altitude of five kilometers. Nevertheless they deliberately staged this provocation, Defense Ministry Spokesman Maj.-Gen. Igor Konashenkov said.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu held a telephone conversation with his Israeli counterpart Avigdor Lieberman on Tuesday, stating that Israel is solely to blame for the downing of Russia’s Ilyushin Il-20 aircraft over the Mediterranean Sea. The irresponsible actions by the Israeli Air Force led to a tragedy, which claimed the lives of 15 Russian military personnel, he said.

The Israeli Defense Ministry’s actions are not in the spirit of Russian-Israeli partnership and Moscow reserves the right to take retaliatory steps, the Russian defense chief stressed.

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