Russia warns the US they will ‘respond with force’ if red lines crossed in Syria

On Sunday, officials confirmed that the United States shot down a Syrian warplane after it attacked U.S.-backed forces.

Russia’s defense ministry said Monday that it was withdrawing from a Syrian airspace agreement with the United States in retaliation for the U.S. downing of a Syrian jet, and would begin considering any U.S.-led coalition planes flying west of the Euphrates River as targets.

As a result, Russian officials said they will now “treat U.S.-led coalition planes in some parts of Syria as targets.”

“In the areas of combat missions of Russian air fleet in Syrian skies, any airborne objects, including aircraft and unmanned vehicles of the [US-led] international coalition, located to the west of the Euphrates River, will be tracked by Russian ground and air defense forces as air targets,” the Russian Ministry of Defense said.

In addition, Russia is “suspending coordination with the U.S. in Syria over so-called ‘de-confliction zones.’”

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov essentially accused the United States of helping terrorists. (That’s insanely ridiculous)

The Russian defense ministry said it viewed the incident as Washington’s “deliberate failure to make good on its commitments” under the de-confliction deal.

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