Civilian plane purposely endangered by Israeli aviation, says Moscow

Text by: RFI Follow

These are very heavy charges made by Russia against Israel. The Russian Defense Ministry claims that a civilian plane was purposely endangered by the Israeli air force while it was carrying out a series of raids on Syrian territory. According to the Russian authorities, the plane which made a connection between Tehran and Damascus had to land urgently to take shelter.

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With our correspondent in Moscow, Daniel Vallot

According to a press release from the Russian Defense Ministry, an Airbus A320 with 172 passengers on board was forced to make this emergency landing. The aircraft was approaching Damascus airport when it was caught between two fires, that of the Israeli F16s and that of the Syrian army's anti-aircraft defense. To escape the fire, according to the Russian Defense Ministry, the plane had to land not in Damascus, but on one of the Russian military bases in Syria.

It is extremely dangerous, it contravenes the laws of war ...

General Trinquand, former head of the French mission to the UN.

For Moscow, Israel is the source of the incident, and of what could have ended in tragedy. The Russian Defense Ministry said in its statement that "the use of civilian aircraft to cover up or block Syrian responses has become a feature " for the Israeli Air Force. In September 2018, a Russian military aircraft was shot down with its 15 crew members in a similar context. The incident had sparked a brief spike in diplomatic tension between Russia and Israel. The Hebrew state has not responded, for the time being, to these new accusations made by Russia.

The aim of the Israelis is to reduce the pressure from the Iranians ...

General Trinquand, former head of the French mission to the UN.

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