"This morning we received a memorandum agreed by our US colleagues on the prevention of air incidents in the Syrian Arab Republic," Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov told reporters.
Moscow hopes that the memorandum will concern all countries taking part in the US-led coalition's air campaign against ISIL. The US vowed to share the safety rules with all parties operating in Syria, Konashenkov added.
"We believe that the signing of such a document is an important step that has practical importance."
The Russian Defense Ministry said Tuesday that the memorandum regulates flights of all aircraft over Syria, including drones.
The agreement between the US and Russia on the flights over Syria shows that the two countries have a high potential for cooperation, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov said Tuesday.
According to him, "the document is of great practical importance" since it regulates the activities of manned and unmanned aircraft in the Syrian airspace.
"The memorandum contains a set of rules and regulations that aim to prevent incidents between Russian and US aviation."
However, the signing of the memorandum does not change Russia's position concerning the fact that the Russian Aerospace Force acts in Syria according to international law, while the US-led coalition does not, Antonov said.
"The United States and the anti-ISIL coalition led by the country use force on the territory of Syria without the request from its government and without the UN Security Council decision."
Syrian Airspace Overcrowded
According to the Russian defense ministry's spokesman, the presence of different aircraft in Syria has increased recently. There are sometimes over 30 aircraft in one area at the same time that poses threat to the safety of flights over Syria. "These are military transport aircraft, combat aircraft, unmanned vehicles of various sizes, including unmanned fighting aerial vehicles."........http://sptnkne.ws/VV7
20/10/15
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US, Russia sign deal on steps to avoid air conflict over Syria...
ReplyDeleteUS and Russian military officials signed a memorandum of understanding on Tuesday that includes steps their pilots should take to avoid an inadvertent clash over Syria as they carry out separate air strikes against militant groups, the Pentagon said.
Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said the full text of the memo would not be released at Russia’s request, but it included specific protocols for air crews to follow plus the creation of a ground communications link between the two sides in the event air communications fail.
Cook said the memo calls for aircraft to maintain a safe distance, but he declined to be more specific about whether the protocols included specific distances.
(REUTERS)