U.S. Spy Plane Flies Close to Russian Bases in Syria

Date: 30 January 2019 - 21:00

News ID: ۶۲۶۹۱

DAMASCUS (Dispatches) – A U.S. P-8A Poseidon plane, fitted to detect ships and submarines, has been detected flying along the Syrian coast by several aviation enthusiasts keeping an eye on flight radars on January 30. The plane made several passes along the Syrian maritime border flying at an altitude of 4.7km and then returned to its base in Sicily. A similar P-8A Poseidon spy plane was seen near the Syrian coast on 15 December 2018 and even earlier on 8 December 2018.
Russia's Hmeymim air base and naval base in Tartus are located on the Syrian coast, and often patrolled by U.S. reconnaissance planes. Such planes also fly along Russia's borders in the Kaliningrad region and circulate around Crimea.
Contrary to the U.S., Russia is praised for its fight against Daesh terrorists in the rgion.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohamed Alhakim on Wednesday thanked Russia for its assistance in battling the Daesh terrorist group at a meeting with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
"I would like to… express my gratitude to Russian President Vladimir Putin for the help we received in the fight against Daesh. Russia played a central role in it", Alhakim said.
Speaking ahead of the meeting, the Iraqi minister said he was happy to be in Moscow where he planned to discuss a wide range of matters, from bilateral cooperation to regional issues.
"We would like to discuss important issues, first of all, Russia's role in Iraq and our trade and economic turnover, and of course the role of Russia in Syria and other regions," he added.
Lavrov noted significant progress in efforts to re-establish security in Iraq and promised Russia's continued help in eliminating the last pockets of Daesh terrorists, also expressing hope that the U.S. would not be used by Washington for other objectives than defeating terrorists in the region.
"We certainly expect that the U.S. military presence in Iraq will meet its stated goals, namely, to fight terrorism and help the government of Iraq to stabilize the situation, and not to somehow solve the geopolitical tasks in the region that are unilaterally pursued by the U.S. I have no doubt that it is from this understanding that the Iraqi leadership proceeds”, the Russian minister said.