[Hot Air] If Syria shoots down a Russian jet, shouldn’t Russia be angry with ... Syria? One might think so, but the Russian defense ministry has other ideas. After Syrian anti-aircraft fire took down a Russian surveillance plane with 15 on board, Moscow threatened Israel with retaliation, accusing them of masking their attacks on Iranian installations as they targeted weapons transfers to Hezbollah:Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, the ministry spokesman, told reporters that 15 people were killed late Monday after Syrian air defenses — activated in response to Israeli strikes — hit a Russian surveillance plane as it scrambled to leave the area.How serious is this? BBC defense reporter Jonathan Marcus thinks “Russia’s anger is real,” but their blamecasting is mainly for show:
“By using the Russian plane as a cover, the Israeli air pilots made it vulnerable to Syrian air defense fire,” Konashenkov said. “As a result, the Ilyushin-20, its reflective surface being far greater than that of an F-16, was downed by a missile launched with the S-200 system.”
He added that Israel gave Russia only a minute’s warning before launching the attack.
“Russia reserves the right to take appropriate measures against hostile actions by Israel,” Konashenkov said.