MOSCOW (Sputnik) – If Turkish aircraft operate over Syria, they must fully honor the Russian-US flight safety memorandum, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov said Friday.
“These assurances have been received from the United States,” Antonov told journalists.
He said that in order to avoid a repeat of Turkey’s downing of a Russian fighter jet in November of last year, Russia has deployed an air defense system in the region.
“This will enable to discover threats to Russian planes in a timely manner that are completing military tasks in Syria and if necessary, take appropriate measures to provide security of their flights,” Antonov added.