MOSCOW, June 27. /TASS/. The US-led coalition’s MQ-9 Reaper drone dangerously approached a Russian fighter jet in Syria’s airspace, the deputy chief of the Russian Center for Reconciliation of the Opposing Parties in Syria (a division of the Russian defense ministry), said on Thursday.

"Between 10:24 a.m. and 10:29 a.m. on June 27, the coalition’s MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle made a dangerous approach to the Su-35 plane of the Russian Aerospace Forces above the settlement of El-Suhne in the Homs governorate, at an altitude of from 7,000 to 8,000 meters," Maj. Gen. Yury Popov said, adding that "the Russian plane was performing a scheduled flight in Syrian airspace" at the time of the incident.

The Russian pilot demonstrated high professionalism and took timely measures to prevent a collision, the official added.

According to Popov, aircraft of the US-led international coalition violated Syrian airspace in the Al-Tanf zone 12 times over the past 24 hours. The violations were committed by a pair of F-16 fighters, three pairs of F-15 fighters and two pairs of A-10 Thunderbolt attack aircraft of the coalition.

Besides, the Russian military registered six violations of the December 9, 2019 deconfliction protocols. The reported incidents were related to flights of unmanned aerial vehicles that were not coordinated with the Russian side.