Russia blames Israel after military plane downed by Syrian forces

MOSCOW, Sept 18 (KUNA) -- Russia's defense minister Sergey Shoygu has placed the blame squarely on Israel for the downing of a Russian aircraft over the Mediterranean late on Monday.
Speaking to his Israeli counterpart Avigdor Lieberman via telephone on Tuesday, Shoygu vowed the Kremlin would retaliate swiftly and appropriately, TASS state news agency reported.
He said that some 15 Russian troops were killed as a result of "irresponsible actions" on the part of the Israeli air force, despite a bilateral agreement over the prevention of aerial mishaps.
A spokesman for the Russian defense ministry has put the onus on Israeli forces as well, saying they deliberately left the Russian plane vulnerable to an accidental attack by the Syrian air force.
Russia's presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the incident should have no bearing on a Russian and Turkish deal over a buffer zone in the Syrian enclave of Idlib.
He said the agreement to establish a de-militarized zone in Idlib is crucial and could perhaps set in motion a definitive solution to the seven-year conflict in Syria.
Peskov went on to underline the Kremlin's "grave concern" over the deadly incident.
Russia's ministry of defense said that the Syrian military had accidentally shot down a Russian military plane over Syria, blaming the incident on Israel. (Pickup previous) as.nam