On September 18, during a press conference following the talks with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Vladimir Putin first commented on the situation with the disappearance of the Russian Il-20 military aircraft in the sky over Syria. Answering the question of the journalist, is not this incident similar to the case of the attack on the fighter in Turkey in November 2015, the Russian president stressed that these are completely different events.
"As for the comparison with the well-known events, when our aircraft was shot down by a Turkish fighter, it is still a different situation. The Turkish fighter deliberately shot down our aircraft. Here, rather, it looks like a chain of tragic accidental circumstances, because the Israeli plane did not knock ours. But, of course, we still have to seriously consider this, "- said Vladimir Putin during a press conference.
Later, during a telephone conversation with Benjamin Netanyahu, Putin described the reasons that, in his opinion, led to the tragedy with the IL-20. In particular, he stated that the operations of the Israeli Air Force in the territory of Syria are being undertaken in violation of the sovereignty of the Syrian Arab Republic.
"In this case, the Russian-Israeli agreements on the prevention of dangerous incidents were not observed, as a result, the Russian aircraft was under fire from Syrian air defense weapons," the press service of the Russian president said.
As the press service of the Kremlin reports, the conversation between the Russian president and Benjamin Netanyahu took place on the initiative of the Israeli side. During the conversation, the representative of Israel expressed his condolences to Moscow in connection with the crash of the aircraft.
To carry out the investigation, the Israeli side is ready to "provide detailed information on the actions of this day of Israeli aircraft over the Syrian territory" and for this purpose to send the commander of the Israeli Air Force to Moscow, Netanyahu said.
"A Knowingly Dangerous Situation"
Recall that the incident with the crash of the Russian Il-20 aircraft took place on the evening of September 17. According to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, at about 11:00 pm Moscow time, communication with the returning Russian airplane returned to the airbase of Khmeim. At the same time, four Israeli F-16 fighters attacked targets in the Syrian province of Latakia.
Responsibility for the death of 15 Russian servicemen on board the Il-20 was assigned to Tel Aviv, noting that the Israeli military had created a notoriously dangerous situation in the area of Latakia and "could not fail to see the Russian airplane."
"Covering themselves with a Russian airplane, Israeli pilots substituted him for the fire of Syria's air defense. As a result, the IL-20 was shot down by a S-200 missile, "said Major General Igor Konashenkov, spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry.
At the same time, Israel warned the Russian command about the planned operation in the area of Latakia "less than a minute before the strike, which did not allow the Russian plane to be taken to the safe zone," Konashenkov said.
According to him, the leadership of the Defense Ministry regards provocative actions by the Israeli military as hostile and reserves the right to "adequate response actions".