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RAF ready to shoot down Russian aircraft over Syria

The Kremlin called in Britain’s military attaché for a dressing-down last night after reports that RAF pilots had been authorised to shoot down Russian warplanes in the Middle East. The weapons are designed for aerial combat.

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Calling the report in the London Sunday Times “worrying”, Ambassador Alexander Yakovenko said in a statement issued by the embassy, “We have urgently requested explanations from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office”.

Russian president Vladimir Putin has defended the military operations in Syria, saying the aim is to “stabilise the legitimate authority” of Mr al-Assad.

RAF pilots have been told to avoid contact with Russian jets at all costs and both USA and British mission control teams will do their best to keep them apart.

A second source said: “No one knows what the Russians will do next”. “We now have a situation where a single pilot, irrespective of nationality, can have a strategic impact on future events”. “The general content of the plan suggests that a government should rule Syria which has the support of the majority; Bashar al-Assad, we believe, would win another election, since he has made many sacrifices for Syrian people, and I am sure they will vote for Assad with the most probability”, he asserted.

The military attache visited the Russian Defense Ministry on October 11.

Earlier, a United Kingdom defense source told the Daily Star Sunday tabloid that British and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation pilots reportedly had been given a clearance to shoot down Russian jets over Iraq.

He said: “The very premise of a potential conflict of United Kingdom and Russian combat aircraft over Iraq is incomprehensible”.

Britain is part of the U.S.-led anti-ISIS coalition, although up to now RAF airstrikes have been limited to targets inside Iraq. “Whose morale are they meant to raise?”

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But the West has claimed other groups opposed to the Syrian leader are also being hit.

The Foreign Office has dismissed as'inaccurate claims that RAF jets have been given permission to shoot down Russian jets if fired