The Russian Ambassador to the United States called the Pentagon’s accusations against the Russian Armed Forces in Syria meaningless

Russia’s ambassador to Washington, Anatoly Antonov, said the Pentagon’s claims that the Russian Federation’s armed forces were obstructing US efforts to combat terrorism in Syria lacked common sense. He noted that the Americans daily violate the rules of flight safety in the Syrian sky, while the Russian military personnel act professionally.

Antonov urged to remember that the US military is in Syria contrary to international law and is actually occupying certain regions of the country, hiding behind the need to fight terrorism. He also noted that the US policy in the Syrian direction is destructive and negatively affects the stabilization of the situation and the restoration of the territorial integrity of Syria, and also negatively affects the situation in the Middle East region.

Earlier Thursday, the Pentagon released video footage of what it claims is Russian Su-35 fighter jets targeting U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drones in Syrian airspace. They claim that Russian fighter jets fired parachute flares and turned on afterburners, which led to a violation of the safety of American aircraft.

Earlier, the deputy head of the Russian Center for the Reconciliation of Warring Parties in Syria, Oleg Gurinov, said that unmanned aerial vehicles belonging to the US-led international coalition regularly violate flight safety rules in the Syrian region, which is closed due to joint Russian-Syrian exercises. He also expressed concern about the impact of US UAV electronic guidance systems on Russian aircraft during the exercise.