Russian and Syrian air and air defense forces began joint drills in Syria, the Russian Defense Ministry has announced.
The head of the Russian Reconciliation Center for Syria, Rear Admiral Oleg Gurinov, said that Russian-Syrian maneuvers aimed at developing joint aviation and air defense work had begun on Syrian territory.
"Joint Russian-Syrian drills will begin on June 5 and last six days," he said.
Gurinov explained that the US-led international coalition's drones were seen flying over an area of the Russian-Syrian drills five times during the past day in violation of flight safety rules.
The Russian side once again expresses concern over the systemic violations of the deconfliction protocols linked with the flights of the coalition's drones.
"During the day, twelve violations were reported, including five over an area closed for flights due to the joint Russian-Syrian drills in northern Syria. We remind that the Russian side bears no responsibility for the safety of flight of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), which were not agreed with the Russian side," he said.
The official explained that the increase in several uncoordinated sorties leads to an escalation of tension and does not contribute to mutual and constructive cooperation.
In June, Gurinov announced that the US-led coalition had violated the air safety rules 315 times in Syria.
He explained that there are continued gross violations of the deconflicting protocols and the bilateral Memorandum on Flight Safety in Syria by the US-led international coalition.
"The violations are deliberate and systematic, and their number has increased significantly compared with last year. In June 2023, there were 315 violations related to flights of drones and coalition aviation," Gurinov noted.
The military official protested that US Air Force pilots activated their weapon systems twice when they approached Russian aircraft, in unprecedented development between the two parties.
According to Gurinov, the Russian side is working to confirm the systematic and serious violations of the non-conflict protocols and the bilateral memorandum of aviation safety in Syria by the US-led coalition.
The Russian-Syrian maneuvers came as Israel increased its raids on Syrian territories.
Ahead of the drills, the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, spoke with his Syrian counterpart, Faisal Al-Miqdad.
The foreign ministers exchanged views on pressing issues and discussed the regional situation, focusing on joint coordination at the UN.
Meanwhile, the head of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), Sergey Naryshkin, warned that the US administration is doing its best to obstruct normalization between Arab countries and Syria and discredit the Syrian leadership.
The SVR said in a statement Monday that the US administration is actively working to undermine the normalization process between Syria and other Arab nations, adding that Washington has been providing dangerous chemicals to terrorists.
According to the SVR, militants affiliated with the CIA-controlled local wing of Al-Qaeda, the Hurras al-Din group, along with extremists from the so-called Islamic Party of Turkestan, practiced the use of these chemicals in the Syrian province of Idlib in May.
The security official said that the US military handed over ISIS militants near the US al-Tanf base in southern Syria missiles loaded with toxic materials.
According to Russian intelligence, a joint US-British intelligence committee has recently been formed in al-Tanf, which has become the main headquarters for commanding and directing ISIS activities in southern Syria and Damascus.
According to Russian intelligence, the committee is headed by a senior official in the US Central Command.
The Russian statement warned that, as usual, the West would include an intense media campaign to accompany the plot, aimed at showing the countries of the Arab world that resuming dialogue with President Bashar al-Assad was a strategic mistake.
