MOSCOW, August 7. /TASS/. US-led coalition’s drones dangerously approached Russian fighter jets near Syria’s Raqqa and over the Mediterranean, Vadim Kulit, deputy chief of the Russian Center for Reconciliation of the Opposing Parties in Syria (a division of the Russian defense ministry), said on Monday.
"At 10:00 a.m. on August 6, the coalitions MQ-9 and LEAP unmanned aerial vehicles dangerously approached a Russian Su-35 plane to a distance of at least 150 meters near the city of Raqqa. Also on August 6, at 10:49 a.m., a coalition’s MQ-9 drone dangerously approached a Russian Su-35 plane to a distance of some 150 meters over the Mediterranean Sea," he said.
According to Kulit, Russian pilots demonstrated high professionalism and took timely measures to prevent collisions with the drones.
In his words, the coalition’s aircraft continue creating dangerous situations in the sky over Syria, violating deconfliction protocols. "Eleven 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," he said.
"One pair of the coalition’s F-16, two pairs of F-35, one pair of Typhoon, and one pair of Rafale fighter jets, as well as one MQ-1C multi-role unmanned aerial vehicle and an MC-12W reconnaissance plane violated Syria’s airspace in the al-Tanf area 12 times during the day," he added.