We cannot guarantee safety of your planes over Syria: Russia to Turkey

“In these conditions the leadership of Russia’s military contingent (in Syria) cannot guarantee the safety of Turkish flights in Syrian skies,” Russia’s TASS news agency cited Counter Admiral Oleg Zhuravlev as saying on Sunday.

The statement comes after Syria announced that it had shut its airspace over the country’s northwest earlier in the day, warning that it will down any hostile aircraft that violates it.

Syria’s official SANA news agency also reported that the country’s military had downed three Turkish drones on Sunday.

SANA later confirmed that two Syrian aircraft had also been downed by Turkish planes over Syrian territory.

Syria confirms Turkey shot down its fighter jets on combat mission in Idlib The pilots ejected moments before the aircraft were hit.

The uptick in aerial incidents come after Turkish forces launched a string of deadly drone attacks against Syrian forces in recent days.

Turkish drone strikes kill over two dozen Syrian soldiers in Idlib: Monitor Turkish drone strikes have reportedly killed over two dozen Syrian soldiers in northwestern Syria.

The drone strikes were apparently in response to an attack which killed 34 Turkish soldiers in Idlib, the last major terrorist stronghold in Syria.

The targeted Turkish soldiers were reportedly deployed directly alongside terrorist troops fighting against government forces.

Russia says Turkish troops killed among terrorists, warns against opA senior Russian lawmaker warns that a full-scale Turkish military operation in Syria will end badly for Ankara.

Ankara has been deploying troops in Idlib and has been engaging in direct clashes against Syrian forces in bid to assist terrorist groups halt Damascus’ ongoing military operation in the province.

The Syrian army launched the offensive August last year after terrorists failed to honor the Sochi de-escalation zone agreement brokered between Russian and Turkey in September 2018.