The Russian Ministry of Defense has denied information about a Su-24 plane shot down by the Russian airborne forces in Idlib.

"Information citing the Internet resources of the militants about the alleged defeat from a MANPADS of a Su-24 aircraft of the Russian airborne forces in the airspace above the Idlib-fake de-escalation zone," the agency said in a statement.

The Ministry of Defense added that the Russian Air Force planes perform tasks in Syria as usual.

Earlier, a video appeared on social networks in which militants rejoice that they managed to bring down the plane. On Twitter, several posts appeared stating that the aircraft was allegedly Russian.

In turn, the Syrian state agency SANA, citing a statement from the Syrian Armed Forces command, reported that there were two downed planes, both belonged to the country's air force and were shot down by Turkish fighters when they attacked terrorists. It was noted that the pilots safely ejected.

It is worth noting that earlier SANA claimed that a Turkish drone was shot down in Idlib.

Also, SANA reported that the command of the Syrian army decided to close the airspace over the province of Idlib. The Syrian military will perceive all objects that violate airspace as hostile and bring down, the report said.

Recall, the Idlib de-escalation zone is the last large area controlled by terrorist organizations. To resolve the situation, Russia and Turkey agreed on joint actions, which include the creation of observation posts and joint patrols. However, militants in the region do not comply with the ceasefire and are attempting to launch an offensive on the positions of Syrian government forces. In addition, terrorists attack civilians and the military base of Khmeimim.

February 23, spokesman for the Russian president Dmitry Peskov said that Turkey has not yet fulfilled the agreement on Syria. Peskov explained that the documents signed by Russian and Turkish leaders said that it was Ankara that should guarantee the breeding, demarcation and withdrawal of heavy weapons from the demilitarized zone in Syria. However, at the moment, the terrorists in Idlib are “perfectly armed, they are constantly being fed ammunition, ammunition, military equipment,” he said.

Peskov added that the offensive actions of terrorists in Idlib could not go unanswered by the Syrian armed forces, which led to "extreme tension." At the same time, he noted that the Russian and Turkish military “are in constant contact” and urged not to build negative scenarios for the development of relations between Moscow and Ankara due to the aggravation of the situation in the province.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova previously said that since February 3, Turkey has carried out more than 40 shelling of Syrian government forces, which killed about 20 and injured more than 40 military personnel.

On February 27, in the area of ​​the settlement of Behun, Turkish troops fell under the shelling of the Syrian troops. Ankara claims that 33 people were killed and 36 more were injured.

The Russian Ministry of Defense reported that the Turkish soldiers who came under fire were in the province of Idlib in the battle formations of terrorists who attacked government troops. According to the defense ministry, on this day the terrorist group Khayyat Tahrir al-Sham * attempted a large-scale attack on the positions of the Syrian government forces in the Idlib de-escalation zone.

  • The official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia Maria Zakharova
  • RIA News
  • © Valery Melnikov

Russia has repeatedly pointed out Turkey’s responsibility for the current aggravation of the situation in Idlib. So, on February 27, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova noted that one of the main reasons why the situation in Syrian Idlib has worsened is the failure to comply with the terms of the Russian-Turkish agreements.

“We see the reasons for the current degradation in Turkey’s chronic failure to fulfill its obligations under the Sochi memorandum of September 17, 2018,” Zakharova said.

As Zakharova pointed out, a ceasefire was introduced on January 9, however, despite this, the terrorists located in Idlib continued their attacks, having since made over 1.8 thousand shellings. She added that Russian-Turkish negotiations on the situation in the region are continuing.

* “Hayat Tahrir al-Sham” (“Jabhat Fath al-Sham”, “Front al-Nusra”, “Jabhat al-Nusra”) - the organization was recognized as terrorist by the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated December 29, 2014.