Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that he sent Air Force Commander Amikam Norkin to Moscow after the incident with a Russian Il-20 reconnaissance plane in order to preserve cooperation with Russia and to protect Israeli citizens.
TEL AVIV (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th September, 2018) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that he sent Air Force Commander Amikam Norkin to Moscow after the incident with a Russian Il-20 reconnaissance plane in order to preserve cooperation with Russia and to protect Israeli citizens.
"I decided to send the Air Force commander to Moscow with a double purpose: to continue to protect our citizens while preserving cooperation between our countries," Netanyahu said in a statement circulated by his office.
IDF spokesman Jonathan Konricus earlier confirmed that Norkin was in Moscow on a visit to share the data related to the tragic incident with the Russian military plane in the Mediterranean.
The Russian Hmeimim airbase had lost contact with the Il-20 aircraft late on Monday during the attack of four Israeli F-16 aircraft on Syrian targets in the province of Latakia.
The Russian Defense Ministry later said that Israeli pilots deliberately put the Russian aircraft under the attack of Syria's air defenses, and the Il-20 was shot down by an S-200 missile. Fifteen Russian servicemen were killed.
The Russian military stressed that it regards Israel's provocative actions as hostile and reserves the right to a proper response.
