Russian defence minister spoke to Israeli counterpart over plane incident

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/File Photo

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.

(Reporting by Katya Golubkova; Writing by Christian Lowe; Editing by Andrew Osborn)