Russian to Equip Syria with S300 Air Defense System to Counter Israeli Attacks

TEHRAN (defapress)-The Russian military is determined to equip the Syrian Army with S300 Air Defense System to further counter the Israeli raids, a Russian paper reported on Monday.

News ID: 72644

Date: 24 September 2018 - 16:00

The Russian-language Kommersant newspaper quoted a high-ranking Russian military official as saying that Moscow will equip the Syrian army with S300 air defense system.

In the meantime, the Arabic-language al-Mayadeen TV Channel quoted Kommersant as reporting that dispatch of S300 missiles to Syria is one of the possible ultimatums Moscow will give to Tel Aviv in order not to repeat attacks on Syria.

Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed that Moscow will give due response to Israel after Russian Il-20 cargo plane was shot down over Syria after Israeli jet used the plane as a cover to attack Syrian Army centers in Lattakia.

Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said on Sunday that the Israeli Air Force misled Moscow by providing wrong information about the area of the planned air strikes in Syria on September 17, thus preventing the Russian Il-20 from moving to a safe zone.

Speaking at a press briefing on Sunday, the Russian defense ministry spokesman provided more details on the downing of Russian Il-20 military aircraft in Syria on September 17, Sputnik reported.

"Today, we share detailed information about the crash of the Ilyushin IL-20 airplane of the Russian Aerospace Forces near the Syrian coast on September 17. We will present a minute-by-minute account of this tragic incident that was made based on the objective radar readings including those from the Plotto air information display system," he stated.

According to Konashenkov, the Israeli Air Force provided Russia with misleading information on the area of its airstrikes on targets in Syria, which stopped the commander of the Il-20 plane from relocating to the safe zone and led to its destruction.

"During the negotiations via the deconfliction channel, the representative of the Israeli Air Force Command reported that the targets assigned to the Israeli aircraft are located in Northern Syria … As you can see on the map, the Israeli jets delivered strikes in Lattakia which is a Western province of the country — and not in the North of the Syrian Arab Republic. The city of Lattakia is located on the Western coast. The misleading information provided by the Israeli officer about the area of strikes did not allow the Russian Il-20 airplane to move timely to a safe area," Konashenkov added.

Konashenkov told a briefing that the Israeli Air Force notified Russia of its planned attacks on Syrian targets simultaneously with the beginning of the strikes instead of doing it in advance, thereby violating the 2015 bilateral agreements to prevent such incidents in Syrian airspace.

"Israel did not inform the Russian force about its operation in advance — but rather they issued a warning simultaneously with the beginning of the strikes, which constitutes a breach of the agreements. These actions constitute a clear violation of the 2015 Russian-Israeli agreements aiming to prevent clashes between our armed forces, in and over Syria, that were reached by the joint working group," Konashenkov said.

He further added that the IAF has on multiple occasions created potentially dangerous situations for the Russian forces located in Syria, emphasizing that Moscow warned Tel Aviv about its air force operations in the war-ravaged country 12 times more often.

Konashenkov emphasized that the ministry possessed an audio recording proving that the IAF had warned the Russian side in the Russian language about the envisaged airstrike on targets in Syria when Russia's IL-20 was downed.

"The talk was conducted in Russian. The Russian Defense Ministry has a record of the conversation," he stressed.

According to the fresh released information, the Il-20 crew began emergency descending after it was hit by a missile, with pilots of Israeli F-16 fighter jets using the Russian aircraft as a "shield" against Syrian air defenses.

Konashenkov elaborated that an Israeli plane maneuvered toward approaching Il-20 — which was considered as another attack by Syrian air defense systems.

He further debunked claims by the IDF that their jets had already been within Israeli airspace when the Syrian Army launched the missiles that hit the Russian plane, saying that F-16s left the area only 10 minutes after receiving the information on the downing.

"The presented objective data testifies that the actions of the Israeli fighter pilots, which led to the loss of life of 15 Russian servicemen, either lacked professionalism or were an act of criminal negligence to say the least. Therefore, we believe that the blame for the tragedy with the Russian Ilyushin Il-20 aircraft lies entirely with the Israeli air forces and those who made the decision to carry out such actions," Konashenkov stressed.

The spokesman went on to say that Israeli jets may have posed a threat to passenger planes when the Il-20 was shot down, and stressed that Russia has never violated the agreement on flights in Syria with Israel.

"Thus, the Israeli jets created a direct threat to any passenger or transport aircraft that could have been there at that time and could have become victims of the adventurism of the Israeli military," Konashenkov added.

The Il-20 vanished from radar screens over the Mediterranean Sea on September 17 after being hit by a Syrian S-200 surface-to-air missile near the Humeimim air base, which coincided with airstrikes by Israeli F-16s on Syrian targets in the province of Lattakia. Shortly after the incident, the Russian Defense Ministry accused the Israeli Air Force of using the Russian plane as a shield against Syrian air defenses.

While expressing its condolences in connection with the death of 15 servicemen onboard, Israel insisted that Syria was responsible for the tragic incident.

Meanwhile, addressing the incident earlier this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Israel didn't down the Russian plane; it was a “chain of tragic accidental circumstances” that led to the crash.

"Russia's retaliatory measures with regard to the Il-20 downing will be directed primarily at stepping up security of Russian military officers in Syria, our military facilities in the Syrian Arab Republic. These will be the steps everyone will notice," he stressed.

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