About a half an hour ago, we found out about a phone call between Vladimir Putin and Benjamin Netanyahu.
The Russian President emphasized that the tragedy over Syrian skies occurred as the result of failure to observe the Russian-Israeli agreements on preventing dangerous incidents. Moreover, the actions of the Israeli Air Force violate the Arab Republic's sovereignty. The Israeli PM expressed deep sorrow over the deaths of the Il-20 crew team. He promised to provide all the necessary information required for the investigation of what had happened. In the nearest future, a commander of Israel's air force will provide Moscow with Israeli Air Force flight data. The conversation was initiated by Israel.
In a phone call today, Florence Parly expressed her condolences to Sergey Shoigu. France's Armed Forces Minister offered help in conducting the search operation. The Russian Minister shared details of the tragedy of the Russian reconnaissance aircraft near the shores of Syria. Tonight, Russia also received condolences in regards to the Il-20 crash from members of the UN Security Council during a session devoted to the situation in Syria.
Also today, Sergey Shoigu stated that the responsibility for the deaths of the Russian pilots fully lies of the Israeli Air Force. According to Russia's Ministry of Defense, the Israeli fighter planes used the Russian reconnaissance aircraft as a cover shield from the Syrian air defense during the night attack on Syrian targets and that they had provoked the shelling. The notification about the operation came literally in the last minute, depriving our pilots of any chance of survival.
