Russia will supply an S-300 anti-missile system to the Assad regime within two weeks, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said.
The announcement comes a week after the ministry accused Israel of indirectly causing the downing of a Russian military plane in Syria that killed 15 servicemen. The Assad regime missile defense systems shot down a Russian military plane last week. Russian officials said Syria's outdated S-200 systems weren't sophisticated enough to identify the Russian plane as a friendly one.
Shoigu said the supply of S-300s to Syria will "calm down some hotheads" whose actions "pose a threat to our troops." Earlier in the war, Russia suspended a supply of S-300, which Israel feared Syria could use against it. Shoigu said Russia is now going to go ahead with the shipment because "the situation has changed, and it's not our fault." The supply of S-300s to Syria will "calm down some hotheads" whose actions "pose a threat to our troops," he said.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov told Russian news agencies that supplying S-300 to Syria is Russia's "own right" and expressed confidence that this would not hurt Russia's ties with Israel. The Kremlin said Russia's decision was not targeted against anyone and only serves to protect Russian troops in Syria. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that recent findings by the Russian military showed an Israeli jet "deliberately" pushed the Russian Il-20 into the line of fire, enabling its downing.