The Russian Defense Ministry slammed Israel on Feb. 7 for what it considered a provocation in the skies over Syria. In the early hours of Feb. 6, while operating from neutral airspace, Israel carried out strikes on Damascus’ suburbs at a time when a civilian Airbus 320 carrying 172 passengers was preparing to land at the airport in the Syrian capital. The Syrian military enacted its missile defense systems to repel the strikes.
"Only thanks to the prompt actions of dispatchers at Damascus airport and the effective work of the automated system of monitoring air traffic, the Airbus 320 was escorted out of the danger zone and assisted in successfully landing at an aerodrome at the Russian air base Khmeimim," Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov told reporters Feb. 7.
