Alwaght- Russia says US missiles strikes on Syria last week removed any moral obligation to withhold S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems from the Arab state.
“We promised not to do it around a decade ago at the request of our partners, and we took into consideration their argument that this would destabilize the situation, despite this [S-300] being a purely defensive system,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday in an interview with Sputnik news.
“We heeded their call. But now we have no such moral obligation,” the top Russian diplomat added.
In earlier remarks this week, Lavrov said, “Several years ago we decided not to supply S-300 systems to Syria at our partners’ request. Now, we will consider options to ensure the Syrian state’s security after this outrageous act of aggression from the United States, France and Great Britain."
The Russian Defense Ministry had stated that Russian-made air defense systems deployed by the Syrian forces managed to intercept 71 of 103 missiles, fired by the US, France and the UK on April 14.
The joint attack was conducted amid reports, covered by several media outlets, citing militants, that the Syrian army had dropped a chlorine bomb on civilians in Douma, with the infamous White Helmets tweeting purported footage of the aftermath of the alleged chemical weapons’ use. The West was quick to blame the chemical attack on Bashar Assad’s forces, while the Syrian government strongly denied its involvement, denouncing the entire incident as a false flag.
