Russia will provide Syria with S-300 missile defence systems to protect Russian troops and thwart attacks. According to Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov, the S-300 missiles are not directed against any country. Peskov answered when asked if Russia equipping Syria with S-300 missiles can damage Russian-Israeli relations.
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Peskov noted that “the situation concerning the safety of our troops, our pilots, which arose after this tragedy of Il-20 plane crash, signifies the urgency to implement extra, effective and energetic measures.” This issue has been vigorously discussed in Moscow and military experts made such a decision.
According to information of our military experts, the IL-20 tragedy happened due to the deliberate act of Israeli pilots, which cannot but harm our relations,” Peskov said. “And most importantly, it makes the Moscow take additional measures to ensure the security of our troops in Syria,” he explained.
Peskov emphasized, that according to conclusions of Russian military experts, “a chain of tragic events” had led to the deaths of the Russian troops in IL-20, but “moves by Israeli pilots contributed a lot” to the loss of the Russian aircraft. The data made public by our military experts is a rather eloquent testimony. The plane was not brought down by an Israeli missile, thank God,” he added.
A Russian electronic surveillance Il-20 plane was downed over the Mediterranean Sea when it was flying back to the Hmeymim airbase. According to the Russian defence ministry, the plane was shot down by a missile from a Syrian S-200 air defence complex when it was firing at four Israeli F-16 aircraft attacking targets in the Latakia governorate. The Israeli pilots actually used the Russian aircraft as a cover, exposing it to Syrian missiles, the ministry stressed.
