Russia says it has sent S-300 air defense system to Syria

Russia’s defiance ministry said Tuesday that it had sent an S-300 missile system to its naval facility in the Syrian city of Tartus, a measure it says is meant to bolster its security.

“The S-300 anti-aircraft missile system has indeed been sent to the Syrian Arab Republic,” defense ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in a statement.

Konashenkov made the statement after US news station Fox News said Russia has deployed an advanced anti-missile system in Syria for the first time, citing three US officials.

The officials said the new weapon system could potentially counter any US cruise missile attack in Syria, in a latest show for Russian military support to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

This makes it the first time Russia has deployed the SA-23 system outside its borders, Fox News said, according to one Western official citing a recent intelligence assessment.

On Tuesday, the United States has defended its stance in Syria when it said it has not given up “pursuit of peace in Syria” as Russian and Syrian warplanes continued to pound residential areas in besieged parts of Aleppo.

(With AFP)