Russian forces fired on Israeli Air Force planes at least twice in recent weeks, according to a Friday morning report in the Hebrew newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth.
The paper said that President Reuven Rivlin brought up the issue with President Vladimir Putin during his visit last month to Moscow, and that Putin said it was the first he’d heard of the incidents, despite coordination between the two militaries.
Israel and Russia established a mechanism meant to coordinate between their air forces in Syria after Russia began carrying out airstrikes to help Syrian President Bashar Assad, who has said his forces are battling Islamic militants and other “terrorists.” Assad’s government often refers to all opposition fighters as terrorists.
The report said that the incidents were the reason behind Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s trip to Moscow Thursday to meet with Putin and Russia’s defense minister.
Hebrew media on Tuesday also reported an irregular aerial incident that occurred in recent days when Israeli fighter jets encountered Russian warplanes along the Syrian frontier.
Information regarding the alleged incident was limited, and reports Thursday were conflicting.
Full article: ‘Russian forces fired on Israeli jets at least twice’ (The Times of Israel)
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