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US-led coalition’s drone flies dangerously close to Russian plane in Syria

According to the deputy chief of the Russian Center for Reconciliation of the Opposing Parties in Syria Vadim Kulit, aircraft of the US-led coalition continue to create dangerous situations in the Syrian airspace, flying in breach of deconfliction protocols and violating the country’s aerial borders

MOSCOW, September 7. /TASS/. An MQ-9 drone of the US-led coalition in Syria buzzed dangerously close to an An-30 plane of the Russian Aerospace Forces in Syria on Thursday, said Rear Adm. Vadim Kulit, the deputy chief of the Russian Center for Reconciliation of the Opposing Parties in Syria (a division of the Russian Defense Ministry).

"At 9:37 a.m. Moscow time, at an altitude of around 6,200 meters, in the Tell Rifaat city area, an MQ-9 reconnaissance and strike drone of the coalition dangerously approached an An-30 plane of the Russian Aerospace Forces that was performing a scheduled flight along Syria’s northern border," Kulit said.

"Russian pilots demonstrated a high degree of professionalism, promptly taking the necessary measures to avert a collision," he added.

In his words, aircraft of the US-led coalition continue to create dangerous situations in the Syrian airspace, flying in breach of deconfliction protocols and violating the country’s aerial borders.

Kulit said that a total of 13 violations of the December 9, 2019 deconfliction protocols, committed by unmanned aerial vehicles of the US-led coalition, were registered over the past day.

"Eight violations committed by a pair of F-16 fighter jets, two pairs of Typhoon fighter jets and two MQ-1C multirole unmanned aerial vehicles of the coalition were registered in the Al-Tanf zone over the past 24 hours," the official added.

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