London: Russia called in the British defence attache in Moscow on Sunday after a British newspaper published what London said was an inaccurate report that its pilots had been given permission to attack Russian jets if fired on.
The British tabloid, Daily Star Sunday, quoted unnamed senior defence sources as saying it was just "a matter of time" before British fighters were involved in a confrontation with Russian jets over Iraq.
A spokesman for the British Foreign Office said in a statement that the attache had had a meeting in the Russian Defence Ministry after it sought "clarification over inaccurate newspaper reports concerning RAF rules of engagement in Iraq".
Russian news agencies had earlier reported that the British defence attache had been summoned to explain the reports.
The attache repeated Britain's concerns about Russian bombing in Syria, which London has said complicates the situation there, the Foreign Office spokesman said.
QNA
