Belgian F-16 fighter jet
© Eric Vidal / Reuters A Belgian F-16 fighter jet.
Russia's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it has presented Alex Van Meeuwen, Belgium's ambassador in Moscow, with evidence proving the involvement of Belgian Air Force jets in a recent airstrike on a Syrian village that killed four civilians. The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned Van Meeuwen on Friday. "During the conversation with Van Meeuwen, First Deputy Foreign Minister Vladimir Titov said that Moscow was puzzled by Belgium's ongoing denial of the fact that the Belgian Air Force carried out an airstrike that killed civilians on the outskirts of Aleppo on October 18 of this year," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"The Belgian diplomat [Van Meeuwen] was presented with evidence showing involvement of the Belgian Air Force in the airstrike on the village of Hassadjek. It was also mentioned that detailed info on the technical aspects of the flight of the two F-16 jets had been given to Belgium's military attaché in Moscow by the Russian Ministry of Defense." Russian Defense Ministry spokesman General Igor Konashenkov said on Thursday that Brussels' obstinate denial of involvement shows that Belgian Defense Minister Steven Vandeput is either "deliberately deceiving people in Belgium and around the world, or his subordinates and the Americans are lying to the leadership of Belgium."

The airstrike on the village of Hassadjek in Syria's Aleppo province reportedly killed six civilians on Tuesday. According to Konashenkov, the two Belgian F-16s were immediately identified by Russian and Syrian air defense radar and all of their movements were tracked. "Every aircraft type has a unique identifiable signature," he noted.

The warplanes, which had flown in from the Muwaffaq Salti Airbase in Jordan, delivered their night strike on the village at 00:35 GMT, about two hours after takeoff, leaving six civilians dead and four injured, the general said. Russia tracked the flight of the two planes from Jordan to Iraq and Syria, as well as their meeting with a US KC-135 tanker, which refueled them over the Deir ez-Zor area, Konashenkov said, adding that the US-led coalition hadn't informed Russia about the Belgian flights.