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US downing of Syrian plane provokes Russian rebuke

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The downing of a Syrian aircraft by the US military on Sunday has prompted strong condemnation from Russia.

Russia’s defence ministry said yesterday it was suspending coordination with the US in Syria over “de-confliction zones” over the incident, which it blamed on Washington’s “deliberate failure to make good on its commitments” under the longstanding agreement between the two countries to prevent in-the-air incidents in their respective operations in Syria.

A statement by Russia’s defence ministry said that “any aircraft, including planes and drones belonging to the international coalition operating west of the River Euphrates, will be tracked by Russian anti-aircraft forces in the sky and on the ground and treated as targets”.

White House Spokesman Sean Spicer responded, saying: “The escalation of hostilities among the many factions that are operating in this region doesn’t help anybody, and the Syrian regime and others in the regime need to understand that we will retain the right of self-defence of coalition forces aligned against ISIS.”

The aircraft in question, an SU-22 fighter bomber, was engaged after it dropped bombs near US-backed SDF forces fighting ISIS insurgents close to the town of Tabqa in Raqqa province, in a move described as “collective self-defence” by the US. Both Russia and Syria insist the plane, thought to be the first downed by a US military jet since the 1999 Kosovo operation, was on a mission against ISIS.

UK Prime Minister Theresa May called on Russia to “reduce the chance of misunderstandings over what is a crowded airspace” by continuing to follow the agreement in place with the US-led coalition.