ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The White House on Wednesday said Washington remains focused on its mission to defeat the Islamic State (ISIS) in Syria despite harassment of its drones by Russian aircraft.
A second Russian aircraft reportedly flew “dangerously close” to a US drone over Syria on Tuesday, the White House said.
Russia’s close approach to and deployment of flares over U.S. drones during a routine mission against ISIS targets violates… established protocols and international norms,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters.
Jean-Pierre added that the US remains focused on the mission to defeat ISIS despite Russian aircraft damaging an MQ-9 drone.
“Russian unsafe and unprofessional behavior in the air not only degrades our Defeat ISIS mission, it risks unintended escalation and miscalculation,” General Michael "Erik" Kurilla, Commander of the US Central Command (CENTCOM), said on Tuesday.
US Air Force on Tuesday announced that days earlier Russian aircraft had flown close to a US drone on an a defeat-ISIS mission in Syria, “harassing the MQ-9 and deploying flares from a position directly overhead.” The Russian aircraft struck the drone, damaging its propeller, according to the US.
“The Russian fighter’s blatant disregard for flight safety detracts from our mission to ensure the enduring defeat of ISIS,” US Major General Alex Grynkewich said in a statement.
Earlier this month, the US said Russian aircraft had harassed MQ-9 drones over Syria twice within 24 hours. In March, Washington said a Russian jet damaged the propeller of a drone, causing it to crash over the Black Sea.
