S-400 surface to air batteries (such as the ones in the Red Square during the military parade marking the 70th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War) in Moscow have been deployed to Syria [Xinhua]
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has confirmed reports from the military that its forces in Syria have deployed S1, S-300, and S-400 air defense weapons at their airbases there.
“Let me repeat: both the S-300 and the S-400 are purely defensive armaments, which do not threaten anyone,” Lavrov said shortly after meeting with French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault who is in Moscow to discuss a new ceasefire initiative in Syria.
He said the defense weapons systems were to protect Russian forces.
He also said that Washington should quiet the rhetoric calling for the US military to use force in Syria.
“I do hope that they [hawks] will not gain the upper hand, though. We’ve heard a rather balanced White House commentary in reply to a request for a comment on these rumors.”
Meanwhile, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said that any aggression against territory currently under Syrian government control would threaten Russian personnel currently on the ground delivering humanitarian aid to the civilian population.
The Russian military would eliminate such threats, Konashenkov said.
“One should really be aware that crews of Russian air defence systems are unlikely to have time to clarify via a direct line the accurate flight programmes of missiles and who their carriers belong to.”
The BRICS Post with inputs from Agencies
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