According to Vadim Kulit, the deputy head of the Russian Defense Ministry’s Center for Reconciliation of Opposing Sides in Syria, two F-35 fighter jets from the US occupation’s coalition flew “dangerously close” to a Russian Su-35 aircraft in Syria on Friday, forcing the pilot to maneuver in order to avoid a crash. During a briefing, Kulit detailed that “On August 25, at 9:32 [06:32 am GMT], a pair of coalition F-35 fighters flew dangerously close to a Su-35 aircraft of the Russian aerospace forces, which was making a scheduled flight along the southern border of Syria, in the al-Tanf area, at an altitude of about 6,500 meters [21300 feet], The Russian pilot showed high professionalism and took the necessary measures in a timely manner to prevent a collision.” The US has maintained an illegal presence and troops in Syria under the guise of fighting ISIS since 2014. US-backed forces are currently occupying parts of the provinces of Al-Hasakah, Deir Ezzor, and Raqqa, where the largest Syrian oil and gas fields are located. Last month, the Russian Center for the Reconciliation of Opposing Sides in Syria revealed that the coalition led by the United States had breached deconfliction protocols 12 times within the past 24 hours. Rear Admiral Oleg Gurinov, the center’s deputy head, disclosed during a briefing: highlighting instances of uncoordinated flights of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) by the so-called “international anti-terrorist coalition.” According to Gurinov, the unauthorized flights of UAVs by the coalition disregarded the deconfliction protocols established on December 9, 2019. The breach of these protocols raises concerns about the safety and security of operations in Syrian airspace. On Wednesday, Amir Saeid Iravani, Iran’s permanent representative to the United Nations expressed that Tehran supports the Syrian government’s call for the total departure of “all illegal foreign military forces” from the war-torn nation. Iravani on Wednesday remarked during a UN Security Council meeting about the situation in Syria that the unlawful deployment of foreign armed troops has created favorable conditions for terrorist activity within Syria. “The unhindered movement of terrorist groups, including ISIS, into Syrian territory, where foreign forces are illegally present, poses a serious threat to both regional and global peace and security,” Iravani detailed, adding that they “support the legitimate demands of the Syrian Government for the complete withdrawal of all illegal foreign military forces from Syrian territory.” The axis of resistance played a major role in the defeat of ISIS in late 2019, something the US does not acknowledge. Last month, Al Mayadeen’s sources revealed that the US is fortifying its occupation bases surrounding the Conoco and Al-Omar gas and oil fields respectively using large reinforcements of its paramilitary proxies as part of its ongoing theft operations of Syrian resources in the north. The heightened readiness of US occupation forces comes as local Resistance groups started in the past few months to carry out operations against the American military, in addition to gradually reclaiming land for the government’s control.
Source: National News Agency – Lebanon