Lavrov: US Coalition Still Owes Explanation over Downing of Syrian Jet

Local Editor

Moscow is still waiting for an explanation from Washington about the downing of a Syrian fighter jet, Russian Foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said after talks with his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian.

"There is a mechanism [to avoid Syria airspace incidents between Russia and US] that is now suspended after the US shot down that plane," Lavrov told reporters.
"We have requested a detailed explanation through the Ministry of Defense. We expect that it will be provided."

The US-led coalition shot down a Syrian Su-22 fighter jet over the province of Raqqa on Sunday saying it allegedly dropped bombs on the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces [SDF]. The Syrian government countered that it was carrying out operations against Daesh [the Arabic acronym for the Takfiri terrorist ‘ISIS/ISIL' group].

This incident, considered an act of aggression and a violation of sovereignty by Moscow and Damascus, led to the Russian Defense Ministry suspending cooperation with its US counterparts within the framework of the Memorandum on the Prevention of Incidents and Ensuring Air Safety in Syria.

Lavrov added that he hopes the American-led coalition's efforts in Syria will not undermine the Syrian government's struggle against terrorism.

"We cannot but remember that throughout this crisis, starting with the process that we began with [former US Secretary of State] John Kerry with the participation of the military and intelligence services, there was a growing feeling that Jabhat al-Nusra, either intentionally or otherwise, was spared from any serious blows by our American partners."

"We frankly talk about this with the Americans, and I will definitely put this question before [the current Secretary of State] Rex Tillerson in the very near future, I hope. But there must be a complete clarity."

Lavrov and Le Drian discussed Syria among other issues and seem to have reached some level of mutual understanding.

"We paid particularly close attention to Syria," Lavrov said. "We have a common understanding that this crisis can only be solved through an inclusive national dialogue with the active support of the international community, as stipulated by the UN Security Council's decisions, maintaining an absolutely uncompromising struggle against terrorist organizations."

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team