Russia warns US jets in Syria are potential targets

Tensions between Moscow and Washington increased yesterday when Russia warned the US-led coalition fighting in Syria that its aircraft are now "targets" after a jet shot down a Syrian government plane.

It also said it was withdrawing from a communication system designed to prevent accidental encounters with US aircraft.

The military hotline, set up two years, ago had been "a crucial link that has allowed Moscow and Washington to notify each other about their air operations in Syria", reports the New York Times. Until now, says the BBC's Jonathan Marcus, "the co-ordination mechanism has generally worked well and its operation is as much in Moscow's as Washington's interest".

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

The NY Times says suspending the hotline is "the most recent example of an intensifying clash of words and interests between the two powers, which support different sides in the six-year civil war in Syria".

The coalition confirmed that on Sunday, it shot down a Syrian bomber which attacked US-backed fighters attempting to oust Islamic State. The Syrian government, which counts Russia as its most important ally, condemned the "flagrant attack" and said it would have "dangerous repercussions".

"Any aircraft, including planes and drones... will be tracked by Russian anti-aircraft forces in the sky and on the ground and treated as targets," the Russian defence ministry wrote in a Facebook post.

In addition to the "usual rhetoric" – the charge that the US is violating Syrian sovereignty and breaking international law – Russia's response is "a practical step", says the BBC, promising to treat coalition drones and aircraft as potential targets.

"As the battle for eastern Syria steps up, Russia and its Syrian government ally seem intent on drawing a line in the sky."