Russia vows Israel .. Drop the plane and response scenarios

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia vowed on Tuesday to retaliate after Moscow blamed Tel Aviv for dropping an air force plane with Syrian air defenses, while Tel Aviv blamed Damascus, Tehran and Lebanese Hezbollah for the incident.

MOSCOW - Four Israeli warplanes on Monday night shot down a Russian Ilyushin military reconnaissance aircraft 35 kilometers from the Syrian coast in front of Latakia province in western Syria, killing 15 soldiers on board the plane, Humimim Russian countryside Lattakia.

The Russian Defense Ministry described the incident as aggressive and provocative and said it reserved the right to retaliate. Later, Russian President Vladimir Putin said his country would take measures that everyone would observe to enhance the security of its soldiers in Syria.

Putin said in a joint press conference with his Hungarian counterpart that what happened in the Syrian airspace yesterday is different from what happened in the incident of the fall of the Russian plane by a Turkish fighter.

He said that Israel did not deliberately drop the plane, but said that an investigation will be conducted to know the full circumstances, pointing out that the Russian position on the incident expressed by the Russian Defense Ministry in direct coordination with him.

The Russian Defense Ministry accused the Israeli pilots that they made the plane "shield" to prevent the air defenses that were trying to target the Israeli planes, but hit the Russian aircraft with one of the "S 200", according to some reports.

According to the story presented by Russia, Israel notified her of the air strike at a "very late" time and therefore had direct responsibility for the killing of the Russian military.

However, the Israeli army reported that the Israeli planes that bombed targets in Lattakia were inside Israeli airspace when the Russian plane was targeted.

The official Syrian media talked about the Syrian air defenses responded on Monday evening to missiles in the province of Latakia and dropped some, and claimed responsibility in the Syrian Ministry of Health that the shelling wounded 10 wounded.

The Israeli army acknowledged that its planes bombed a Syrian facility that was about to transfer weapons to Hezbollah on behalf of Iran, but said that when the Russian plane was shot down, the Israeli planes were "already inside Israeli airspace."

Response scenarios
The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned the Israeli ambassador, while Russian Defense Minister Sergei Schweiggo told his Israeli counterpart Avigdor Lieberman the position issued by the Russian Defense Ministry and considered that the Russian plane was killed due to irresponsible Israeli conduct.

Later in the day, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a telephone conversation on the Russian plane crash. During the conversation, Netanyahu blamed Damascus for the incident and offered cooperation in the Russian investigation, expressing regret for the killing of the Russian military. He also pledged to continue to hit Iranian targets in Syria.

"An important meeting of the leadership of the Russian armed forces led by the defense minister was held today in preparation for a certain Russian position in response to what Moscow described as irresponsible and irresponsible Israeli actions," Zawahr said.

He pointed to an escalating tone by Moscow, but pointed out that the Russians are not going to face a military confrontation with Israel, but may provide steps such as the Israeli air embargo over Syria, or Russia's exit from the agreements signed with Israel in terms of lack of friction and coordination, Israeli air strikes are subject to various air defenses, including Russian defenses in Syria.

In this context, the head of the Security and Defense Committee in the State Duma, the former commander of the Russian Air Force Victor Bondaryov, said that the crash of the Russian plane would undermine Russian-Israeli relations in various fields.

Bondaryov described Israeli actions as irresponsible and hypocritical. He noted that Russia would not take a precipitous and reckless stance, ruling out a direct military confrontation between Russia and Israel.

An Israeli diplomatic source said Israel regretted the plane crash, adding that it held the Syrian regime fully responsible, and that Iran and Hezbollah were partners in bringing it down.

The Israeli army said that the hotline, through which the military coordination between the Israeli and Russian sides was working, adding that Israel would convey to the Russian government the necessary information to examine the incident and the results of the investigation.