US says Russia did not inform it of downed jet plan
American officials have denied that the Russian military had given the details of its downed jet’s flight plan to the Pentagon before the aircraft was shot down by Turkey inside Syrian territory.
The Reuters news agency quoted two unnamed US officials as saying on Friday that Russia had not passed along the kind of granular operational details that were suggested by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Putin said on Thursday, "We informed our American partners" about when and where Russian aircraft would be operating.
He also asserted that it was "precisely" then that the Turkish air force shot down the Russian Sukhoi Su-24 fighter jet over allegation that the warplane had repeatedly violated its airspace. Moscow, however, insists the jet never left Syrian airspace.
"The question arises: Why did we pass on that information to the Americans," Putin asked, implying some degree of US responsibility in the aftermath of the incident. He has even hinted that Washington might have given detailed Russian operational plans to Turkey ahead of time.
The Pentagon formerly acknowledged that Moscow had given basic notification to the so-called US-led coalition against ISIL ahead of some operations in Syria, including a November 17 launch of cruise missiles.
Washington and Moscow signed a "memorandum of understanding" last month in an effort to minimize the risk of air collisions between their military aircraft over Syria.
Russia launched an air campaign in Syria against Daesh Takfiri terrorists on September 30. The US has been carrying out its own airstrikes in the country for more than a year now.
Observers say while the US and its allies claim they are combating terrorist groups like ISIL, they in fact helped create and train those organizations to advance their policies in the Middle East.
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