WASHINGTON, February 4. /TASS/. The US-led anti-terror coalition has never supplied surface-to-air systems to its allies in Syria and doesn’t plan to do that, a coalition official told TASS on Sunday.
The Russian defense ministry reported earlier that a Russian Su-25 assault aircraft making a survey flight over the Idlib de-escalation zone had been gunned down on Saturday by Jabhat al-Nusra (a terrorist organization outlawed in Russia) militants. The pilot ejected himself from the aircraft but was killed in a skirmish with terrorists.
"We are aware of an incident involving the downing of a Russian military jet near Idlib, Syria on February 3, 2018," the official said. "The Coalition does not provide arms, training or support to Kurds in Afrin. The Coalition has not equipped partner forces in Syria with surface-to-air weapons and has no intention to do so in the future."
"The Coalition works by, with and through Syrian Democratic Forces partners in Syria to defeat Daesh (known as Islamic State, a terrorist organization outlawed in Russia). Our operations are geographically focused on ongoing combat operations against Daesh in eastern Syria," he said.