MOSCOW, July 23. /TASS/. A US-led coalition’s MQ-9 drone dangerously approached Russian planes in Syria, Oleg Gurinov, deputy chief of the Russian Center for Reconciliation of the Opposing Parties in Syria (a division of the Russian defense ministry), said on Sunday.

"Of special concern is a near-midair collision of a coalition’s MQ-9 unmanned aerial vehicle with Russian warplanes near al-Bab," he said.

According to Gurinov, several cases were reported when the coalition’s drones used their fire guidance systems on Russian planes, automatically triggering their onboard defense systems. "Russian pilots once again demonstrated high professionalism and took timely measures to prevent collisions with the coalition’s unmanned aerial vehicles," he stressed.

He said that ten violations of the deconfliction protocols of December 9, 2019 linked with the flights by the coalition drones were reported in Syria in the past 24 hours.

"Three pairs of the coalition’s F-16 fighter jets violated Syria’s airspace in the al-Tanf area, across which international air routes run, six times during the day," he added.