Moscow _ Agencies
The Russian Defense Ministry blamed Israel for the shooting down of the plane "Il-20", considering the actions of Israeli pilots to indicate their lack of professionalism or criminal negligence.
A spokesman for the ministry, Major General Igor Konashenkov, said Sunday at a special press conference, during which he presented details of the investigation into the incident, that the representative of the Israeli Air Force commander at the rank of Colonel informed the command of the Russian forces group in Syria via the channel of communication to prevent the military collision by hitting Coming on Syrian sites.
The communication was that Israel would change positions in northern Syria in the next few minutes.
One minute later, at 1 p.m. and 40 minutes, four Israeli fighter jets launched air raids on industrial facilities in Latakia Governorate with "JP U-39" bombs.
It is thus clear that the Israeli side has informed the Russian armed forces of the implementation of its military operation, not in advance, but in conjunction with the start of the raids.
He stressed that these actions are a direct violation of the Russian-Israeli agreements signed in 2015 to prevent clashes between the forces of the two sides in Syria.
He said the representative of the General Staff of the Israeli Air Force told the Russian side during the negotiations through the channel of communication to prevent the military collision in the atmosphere that the targets, which were planned to be hit during the flight of Israel in northern Syria, adding that the crew commander of the Russian plane " Il-20, "which was flying over northern Syria, received instructions to leave the area of execution of the mission and go south to return to al-Qaeda.
"The Israeli Air Force did not carry out raids in the northern areas of the Syrian Arab Republic, but in the countryside of Latakia, which is a western province of Syria, located in the West Coast region of Syria," he said.
He explained that the Israeli officer´s misinformation about the area of the Israeli fighter raids did not give the Russian aircraft "Il-20" the opportunity to exit to a safe area, adding that the whereabouts of the Israeli fighter F-16 were not reported.
After a detailed presentation of all the circumstances of the incident, Konashenkov added that the objective information provided indicates that the actions of the pilots of the Israeli fighter jets, which led to the killing of fifteen Russian soldiers, indicate either their lack of professionalism or at least the criminal recklessness.
"Therefore, we consider that the guilt in the disaster of the Russian plane/" Il-20 "is precisely and completely on the Israeli Air Force and on those who have taken the decision to carry out such activity," he said.
