Russia 'perplexed' by Belgian denial of Aleppo airstrike responsibility
Russia 'perplexed' by Belgian denial of Aleppo airstrike responsibility
Moscow claims that airstrikes carried out by Belgian F-16s in Aleppo province earlier this week killed civilians. Belgium denies responsibility.
2 min read
On Friday Belgium's Ambassador to Russia was summoned to Moscow for questioning [Getty]
Russia claimed on Friday to be "perplexed" by Belgium's denial of responsibility for airstrikes in Aleppo province that Moscow says killed civilians earlier this week.
A tweet posted on the Russian Foreign Ministry's Twitter account early on Friday stated that Moscow remained "perplexed" by "Belgium's persistent denial of the fact that on October 18 the Royal Belgian Air Force struck Aleppo suburbs."
The tweet was posted shortly after a spokesperson from Russia's Foreign Ministry told AFP that Belgium's ambassador to the country had been summoned to Moscow early on Friday in a sign of escalating tensions between the two European states.
On Wednesday, Russia said that six people had been killed and a further four injured in airstrikes in Hassajek, in Aleppo province, claiming that two Belgian F-16 planes were present in the area.
Since, a spokesman from Russia's Defence Ministry has also claimed that Moscow has "effective air defence capabilities, allowing it to carry out 24-hour monitoring of air activity practically over the whole territory of Syria and beyond its limits".
But Belgium has denied responsibility, claiming that a map with a flight path on it provided by Moscow showed the aircraft in question did not belong to Belgium, and on Wednesday summoned the Russian ambassador to Brussels in protest.
Belgium began airstrikes against the Islamic State group in Syria in March, having previously participated in aerial missions against the extremist group in Iraq, as part of a US-led coalition currently fighting against the group.
Russia has been accused of war crimes for its involvement in a devastating campaign of airstrikes in east Aleppo that has seen 500 people killed since a US-Russian brokered ceasefire collapsed on September 19.
A tweet posted on the Russian Foreign Ministry's Twitter account early on Friday stated that Moscow remained "perplexed" by "Belgium's persistent denial of the fact that on October 18 the Royal Belgian Air Force struck Aleppo suburbs."
The tweet was posted shortly after a spokesperson from Russia's Foreign Ministry told AFP that Belgium's ambassador to the country had been summoned to Moscow early on Friday in a sign of escalating tensions between the two European states.
On Wednesday, Russia said that six people had been killed and a further four injured in airstrikes in Hassajek, in Aleppo province, claiming that two Belgian F-16 planes were present in the area.
Since, a spokesman from Russia's Defence Ministry has also claimed that Moscow has "effective air defence capabilities, allowing it to carry out 24-hour monitoring of air activity practically over the whole territory of Syria and beyond its limits".
But Belgium has denied responsibility, claiming that a map with a flight path on it provided by Moscow showed the aircraft in question did not belong to Belgium, and on Wednesday summoned the Russian ambassador to Brussels in protest.
Belgium began airstrikes against the Islamic State group in Syria in March, having previously participated in aerial missions against the extremist group in Iraq, as part of a US-led coalition currently fighting against the group.
Russia has been accused of war crimes for its involvement in a devastating campaign of airstrikes in east Aleppo that has seen 500 people killed since a US-Russian brokered ceasefire collapsed on September 19.
Tensions between Moscow and Brussels escalated a day after Syria's military on Thursday warned Turkey that it would not hesitate to shoot down Turkish warplanes if they violated the country's airspace.
On Wednesday, Turkish jets carried out a total of 26 airstrikes on Kurdish YPG positions in northern Aleppo province, with Ankara claiming to have killed 160 to 200 YPG fighters - a total the YPG says had been grossly inflated.
Syria's Defence Ministry called the airstrikes an act of "naked aggression".
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