US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin called on Russia on Saturday to abide by laws protecting nations’ airspace and “cease irresponsible behaviour”, when questioned about recent Russian aircraft friction with American drones in Syria.
The US military reported that a “MQ-9” drone sustained “significant” damage when it was hit by a projectile fired from a Russian fighter jet while flying over Syria last week. This incident marks the latest close-range confrontation between Russian and American military aircraft in the region.
Speaking about the incident during a press conference in the Australian city of Brisbane, Austin said, “We call on the Russian leadership to ensure that it issues directives to its forces to comply with sky laws and to ensure this irresponsible behaviour stops.”
Austin added, “We will persist in communicating through existing channels to express our concerns and will continue to engage senior leadership as necessary. But again, we will continue to operate as we always have in the airspaces and protect our interests and resources.”
The Russian news agency, TASS, quoted Admiral Oleg Gorinov, the deputy head of the Russian Reconciliation Center in Syria, saying that a drone from the US-led coalition in Syria dangerously approached a Russian “Su-34” military aircraft on Friday morning.
Gorinov explained that the incident involving the “MQ-9” drone took place over Raqqa province. “The Russian pilots, who demonstrated high professionalism, immediately took necessary measures to prevent a collision with a coalition drone,” he said.
News from both Russia and the United States have recently reported similar incidents.
