MOSCOW, August 19. /TASS/. Two F-35 fighter jets of the pro-US coalition dangerously approached two Sukhoi-35 fighters of the Russian Aerospace Force near Al-Tanf in Syria on Saturday, Rear Admiral Vadim Kulit, the deputy head of the Russian Center for Reconciliation of Conflicting Parties in Syria, has said.

"On August 19, from 6:08 a.m. to 06:16 a.m. a dangerous rapprochement between the coalition’s two F-35 fighter jets and a pair of Sukhoi-35 aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Force took place, when the Russian planes were on a routine flight along Syria's southern border. It occurred at an altitude of about 9,000 meters in the area of Al-Tanf. The Russian pilots demonstrated high professionalism and took the necessary and timely measures to prevent collision," Kulit said.

With such actions the coalition continues to create conditions for dangerous air incidents, as well as aggravate the situation in the Syrian airspace, he added.

Kulit also said that seven violations of the deconfliction protocols of December 9, 2019, involving drone flights not coordinated with the Russian side, were recorded by the coalition during one day.

"In the area of Al-Tanf, 14 violations were recorded during the day: by two pairs of F-35 fighter jets, two pairs of F-16 fighter jets, two pairs of Typhoon fighter jets and two MQ-1C multi-purpose drones of the coalition," he added.

In addition, the deputy chief of the Russian Center for Reconciliation of Conflicting Parties in Syria said that in the Idlib de-escalation zone one shelling of the Syrian government forces by the terrorist group Islamic Party of Turkestan (banned in Russia) was recorded in Aleppo province over the past 24 hours.