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The Russian electronic intelligence aircraft Il-20, shown in 2017, was accidentally shot down by Syrian forces in response to Israeli strikes last week.
Photo:
MARINA LYSTSEVA / ASSOCIATED PRESS
Russia accused Israel of shooting down a warplane last week, accusing the country of deliberately misleading Moscow and challenging the Israeli version of the events that killed the 15 Russian soldiers on board.
A spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry said on Sunday that Moscow had rejected the specific demands presented personally last week by the commander of the Israeli Air Force who had handed the plane over to Syria.
A Russian reconnaissance plan Il-20 was dropped last week after being caught in the fire of Syrian semi-automatic air defense systems, which defended against Israeli F-16s that had struck Iranian targets in Syria.
The incident threatens to undermine relations between Russia and Israel, which have delicately balanced their national interests in the Syrian conflict by wishing to avoid a wider regional conflict.
Russian Defense Ministry spokesman General Igor Konashenkov said Israeli planes had used the Russian air reconnaissance device as a screen to fire Syrian anti-aircraft missiles S-200.
"Objective information shows that the actions of Israeli jet fighter pilots, which resulted in the deaths of 15 soldiers, speak of a lack of professionalism or minimal criminal negligence," said General Konashenkov cited by Interfax.
Israel has denied being responsible for the destruction of the plane, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has personally expressed grief over the loss of life during a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Last Tuesday, the two presidents tried to calm the passions about the machine shot, but the rejection by the Russian Ministry of Defense of the Israeli story of the accident threatens to test the relations between the two countries.
General Konashenkov warned that Israel "did not value the level of its relations with Russia or exercised any control over individual orders."
Write to Thomas Grove at [email protected]
