Israeli armed forces and those who made relevant decisions are to blame for the crash of Russian warplane in Syria, Russian Defense Ministry said during a briefing on Sunday, Sputnik reported.

"The presented objective data testifies that the actions of the Israeli fighter pilots, which led to the loss of life of 15 Russian servicemen, either lacked professionalism or were an act of criminal negligence to say the least. Therefore, we believe that the blame for the tragedy with the Russian Ilyushin Il-20 aircraft lies entirely with the Israeli air forces and those who made the decision to carry out such actions,” Igor Konashenkov said.

The ministry spokesman went on to say that Israeli jets may have posed a threat to passenger planes when the Il-20 was shot down, and stressed that Russia has never violated the agreement on flights in Syria with Israel.