‘We will retain the right to self defense’ says White House after F-18 blasted Syrian fighter-bomber from the sky -and in teeth of Russian anger at kill

The White House told Russia on Monday that it reserves ‘the right to self defense’ after the Kremlin warned it would track US-led coalition aircraft in Syria as potential ‘targets’ and halted an incident-prevention hotline with Washington after US forces downed a Syrian jet.
‘I think that the escalation of hostilities among the many factions that are operating in this region doesn’t help anybody,’ White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said ‘and the Syrian regime and the others in the regime need to understand that we will retain the right to self defense of coalition forces aligned against ISIS.’
Spicer told a reporter later that he was not saying the US is on the brink of war with Russia amid an escalation in tensions that came after the Syrian government attacked a US-backed group that is fighting ISIS.’
Read more: ‘We will retain the right to self defense’ says White House after F-18 blasted Syrian fighter-bomber from the sky -and in teeth of Russian anger at kill