US military apologizes to Russia for close approach in Syrian skies

US servicemen have apologized to Russia for an incident in which a US aircraft flew close to a Russian plane in the skies over Syria, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a press release.

Major General Igor Konashenkov said that on October 17, the US E-3 AWACS aircraft flew dangerously close, less than 500 meters, to the Russian Su-35 aircraft in the sky over Syria.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov said that on October 17, a US E-3 AWACS aircraft flew dangerously close to a Russian Su-35 aircraft over Syria, less than 500 meters away.

"After the E-3 AWACS flew close to the Russian fighter jet, the Russian air force command at the Hmeymim airbase promptly contacted its US counterparts and asked them to clarify the incident," Konashenkov said.

He added that the US Air Force command had "apologized for the incident and promised to take relevant actions with the pilots to avoid such situations in the future."

Earlier, the Pentagon announced that the close flyby of the Russian aircraft in the sky over Syria was not dangerous. According to Pentagon officials, both planes flew without lights on and were 800 meters apart.

According to Sputnik