FILE PHOTO: Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu attends a meeting of President Vladimir Putin with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in Sochi, Russia September 17, 2018. Alexander Zemlianichenko/Pool via REUTERS

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu spoke to his Israeli opposite number, Avigdor Lieberman, and told him Moscow holds Israel wholly to blame for the shooting down of a Russian military plane near Syria, Russian news agencies reported.

The aircraft was shot down by Syrian anti-aircraft systems but Moscow said Israeli air force jets flying in the same area put the Russian plane in the line of fire. Israel’s government has not commented.