Russia says its jet neared US aircraft over Syria for identification

Russia said Wednesday (Oct 14) that one of its fighter jets had approached a US-led coalition warplane in Syrian airspace for identification purposes, as it sought to allay US fears of mid-air collisions.

Russian warplanes including an Su-30SM fighter jet were bombing Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) targets in Syria’s Aleppo province when their warning systems “detected emissions from an unidentified flying object,” defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said.

“Our fighter turned and flew to a distance of 2 to 3km (from the plane), not with the aim of scaring someone, but to identify the object in question and to whom it belonged,” he said in a statement .... http://www.straitstimes.com