YEREVAN.- Syria would not have shot down a Turkish airplane without Russia’s permission, expert in Arabic studies Suren Manukyan believes.

Manukyan, deputy director of Armenia-based Genocide Museum-institute, commented on the incident with F-4 Phantom jet downed by the Syrian forces.

According to him, Syria would hardly act without Russia’s support which was also reflected in the statement of Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Russian FM said military interference in Syria’s internal police is unacceptable.

“Syria showed its determined stance, while the West is not ready to use the incident as a trigger for a military campaign,” he said.

Manukyan considers that western states are not ready to fund a new war against Syria and their goal is to create difficult economic situation in the country.

“Economic situation in Syria is deteriorating,” he concluded.