A spokesperson for the Combined Joint Task Force — Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR) told Sputnik on Friday that the US will continue to deconflict with Russia in Syria after the incident between US F-22 fighter jets and Russian Su-25 attack aircraft.
The spokesperson was referring to what the coalition claims was a near-collision on December 13.
The Pentagon says a collision was narrowly averted on Wednesday while two US F-22s were chasing off two Russian Su-25s that entered coalition-controlled airspace on the eastern side of the Euphrates River, near Al Bukamal, Syria.
Russia's Defense Ministry has denied that a collision nearly took place, saying instead that a US fighter jet interfered with Russian aircraft that were carrying out a humanitarian mission on the western side of the Euphrates near the Syrian town of Mayadin.
Russian forces are operating in Syria at the request of the Syrian government of President Bashar Assad. The US-led coalition claims that is conducting military operations against ISIL in Syria and Iraq. The coalition's strikes in Iraq are conducted in cooperation with Iraqi officials, but those in Syria are not authorized by Assad's government or the UN Security Council.
SPUTNIK/MNA
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