Netanyahu said to tell ministers not to discuss strained Russia ties

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed government ministers not to publicly discuss the downing of a Russian reconnaissance plane by Syrian air defenses during an Israeli strike in Syria that has led to strained ties between Jerusalem and Moscow, Hadashot TV news reports.

The network said the directive was given by Netanyahu during a security cabinet meeting today on the latest developments stemming from last week’s incident on relations with Russia.

Russia has blamed Israeli actions for the downing of the plane, in which 15 Russian serviceman were killed. The Israel Defense Forces has maintained the plane was shot down due to indiscriminate Syrian anti-aircraft fire and vowed to continue targeting Iranian weapons shipments in Syria.

The security cabinet meeting came a day after Russia announced it would supply Syria with the advanced S-300 anti-aircraft battery in the wake of the shooting down of its plane, a move condemned by both Israel and the United States.