Netanyahu and Putin meet at the Kremlin
Netanyahu and Putin meet at the KremlinHaim Zach/Flash90

Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee member MK Ofer Shelah (Yesh Atid) referred to the announcement of the results of the Russian investigation, according to which Israel was responsible for the downing of the Russian plane by the anti-aircraft forces of the Assad army.

"Israel is not to blame for the downing of the Russian plane, and the defense ministry in Moscow knows it. Why is it blaming us? In order to signal that Syria is no longer a no-man's-land, and that there are new rules to the game.”

"Netanyahu is proud of his relations with Putin, but the Russian is far less romantic: He has interests, and he acts according to them."

"As long as the prime minister is dealing only with tactical coordination, not with a major move to bring the Americans back into the picture, Putin will take a picture with him, but his people on the ground will define the reality as they wish," Shelah said.

Earlier on Sunday, the Russian defense ministry held a press conference during which the conclusions of the Russian inquiry into the plane crash were presented, and it was asserted that Israel was at fault for the serious incident.

At the press conference, defense ministry officials claimed that during the conversation with the “smart line” in Russian, the Israelis claimed that the target was in northern Syria, but the Israeli warplanes ultimately carried out an attack in Latakia - in western Syria.

"The erroneous information provided did not give the transport plane time to reach a safe place," the Russians claimed, adding that the IAF planes had used the Russian transport plane as a cover for the Syrian missiles.

"The activity of the Israeli Air Force suffered at the very least from unprofessional, if not criminal, behavior, and therefore our conclusion is that Israel is responsible for what happened," it was said at the press conference.

A representative of the defense ministry noted in his words that IDF leaders do not appreciate relations with Moscow and that Israel "behaves with ingratitude."