Israel Matzav

How's that Russian re-set going Barack? Russians say Turkish plane on NATO spy mission

Russia is claiming that a Turkish F-4 that was shot down by Syria last month was on a NATO spy mission (Hat Tip: IMRA).

Chairman of the Social Council at the Russian Defense Ministry, Igor Korotchenko, said that the Turkish aircraft downed in the Syrian territorial waters had violated Syrian airspace on an intelligence mission for the NATO aiming at measuring the capabilities of the Syrian anti-air defenses.

...

Korotchenko said that Russia has documented information on the infiltration of the aircraft which confirm the truth about the aircraft's mission and its crew's orders, adding that the aircraft was destroyed legally as it was within the Syrian airspace.

He said that the aircraft was conducting espionage and photo reconnaissance of important site, and that the Turks didn't anticipate that the Syrian anti-air defenses will be able to down this aircraft due to its high maneuverability and low altitude, expecting it to return safely to base after finishing its mission.

Korotchenko said that Turkish intelligence sought to obtain information about Syria's anti-air defenses for the benefit of NATO, and that the efficiency of these defenses were proven which constitutes a blow to the Turkish air forces due to this failure.

Maybe someone else needs to press that re-set button with the Russians to make it go back to the way it was.

Labels: NATO, Russia, Syria, Turkey

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 8:00 AM