Moscow ups Assad regime by installing S-300 air defense

The Russian military said Tuesday it had beefed up its forces in Syria with state-of-the-art air defense missiles, an announcement that follows Washington’s move to suspend contacts with Russia over Syria.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said a battery of the S-300 air defense missile systems had been deployed to Syria to protect a Russian facility in the Syrian port of Tartus and Russian navy ships off the Mediterranean coast. Tartus is the only naval supply facility Russia has outside the former Soviet Union.

The deployment adds more punch to the Russian military force in Syria, which already includes long-range S-400 missile defense systems and an array of other surface-to-air missiles at the Hemeimeem air base in Syria’s coastal province of Latakia.

The S-300 deployment was announced a day after the US announced it was suspending direct diplomatic contacts with Russia on ending the war in Syria. Washington’s decision followed the collapse of the Russia-US-brokered cease-fire in Syria and the Syrian army’s onslaught on Aleppo backed by Russian warplanes.

While Washington put diplomatic contacts on hold, it has maintained a military-to-military dialogue intended to prevent incidents in the air between


ginger_software_uiphraseguid="834e7162-fd7f-47fb-bb37-e38e6e654666" class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark">Russian and the US-led coalition aircraft over Syria.

Amid the rising US-Russian tensions, the new Russian missile deployment seems intended to send a warning signal to the US.

Russia reacted nervously last month when aircraft of the US-led coalition struck Syrian army troops near Deir El-Zour. Damascus said 60 Syrian soldiers died in the air raid. Washington said the strike was launched by mistake, but Moscow has questioned the US explanation.

The S-300, a sophisticated long-range system capable of striking enemy aircraft and cruise missiles up to 250 km away, could cover other areas in Syria along with Tartus.

Konashenkov sought to down play the deployment, saying “the S-300 is exclusively a defensive system that doesn’t threaten anyone.”

“It’s not quite clear why the deployment of the S-300 in Syria has so worried our Western colleagues,” he said.

In a sharp attack on Washington, Konashenkov also charged that the US-led action against Daesh was merely an “imitation” that has failed to prevent Daesh’s expansion.