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Israeli air force chief holds meetings on Il-20 crash with Russian military commanders

The Israeli side reported that the meetings were 'held in good spirits'

EL AVIV, September 20. /TASS/. Israeli Air Force Chief Major General Amikam Norkin has held meetings with senior Russian military commanders concerning the downing of Russia’s Ilyushin Il-20 aircraft over the Mediterranean Sea, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement.

"The IDF delegation to Moscow, led by the Commander of the IAF, Maj. Gen. Amikam Norkin, has held several meetings with the Commander of the Russian Air Force, senior commanders of the Russian army and other officials of the Russian Air Force," the statement reads.

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Russia launches criminal case into Il-20 crash above Mediterranean

"The Israeli officers presented the situation report regarding the downing of the Russian plane by Syrian anti-aircraft fire on Monday night, as well as the pre-mission information and the findings of the IDF's inquiry of the event," the Israel Defense Forces said, adding that "the meetings were conducted following the agreement between the Israeli Prime Minister, Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu and the Russian President, Mr. Vladimir Putin."

"The meetings were held in good spirits and the representatives shared a professional, open and transparent discussion on various issues. Both sides emphasized the importance of the states' interests and the continued implementation of the deconfliction system," the statement says.

"In addition, the IDF presented the ongoing Iranian attempts to establish its military presence in Syria and to transfer strategic weapons to the Hezbollah terror organization," the IDF noted. "The Israeli delegation continues its meetings and will return to Israel tomorrow morning, as planned."

Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin in a Tuesday telephone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had agreed to allow a group of experts led by the Israeli air force chief to bring their data on the Il-20 crash to Moscow. Peskov added that as far as the downing of the aircraft was concerned, Putin was guided by information provided by the Russian Defense Ministry but Russian experts would also study the information Israel would share.

Downing of Il-20 aircraft

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, on September 17, contact was lost with a Russian Il-20 aircraft flying over the Mediterranean Sea back to the Russian Hmeimim air base in Syria. The ministry said the aircraft had disappeared from radar during an airstrike four Israeli F-16 fighter jets carried out on targets in the Syrian province of Latakia.

On September 18, the Russian Defense Ministry stated that the Il-20 aircraft had been accidently downed by Syrian air defenses as the Israeli F-16 jets had been using it as cover. According to Defense Ministry Spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov, Israeli pilots "could not but see the Russian plane, which was approaching the runway from an altitude of five kilometers." The ministry added that it considered such actions by Israel to be hostile.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu held a telephone call with his Israeli counterpart Avigdor Lieberman, stating that Israel was solely to blame for the downing of Russia’s Il-20 aircraft over the Mediterranean Sea.

The Israel Defense Forces said in a later statement that the country "will share all the relevant information with the Russian Government to review the incident and to confirm the facts in this inquiry.".

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