Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has declared Syria has received its first shipment of advanced S-300 air defence missiles from Russia.
The announcement is expected to become a hindrance for UN peace talks in the region which might get bolstered by tensions, The Independent reports.
According to the report, Russia’s move to send arms to Syria comes after the European Union lifted an arms ban on Syria, thereby allowing its 27 member countries to send weapons to rebels fighting to overthrow Assad”s regime.
The report said that Syria can now hope to limit Israeli’s air force attack with the Russian missiles already in the Assad regime”s possession following Israeli airstrikes on Syrian targets over the recent months that are believed to have destroyed weapons shipments bound for the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon.
The S-300s, which can track and strike multiple targets simultaneously at a range of upto 125 miles simultaneously, will strengthen Syrian armoury, allowing it to counter air strikes launched from foreign airspace such as those from the Israeli or Lebanese airspace, the report added.
Britain and France had spearheaded the campaign to lift the ban, arguing that Europe”s threat of arming the rebels will force Assad to negotiate.
Russia, however, had criticized the decision in strong terms, saying that it undercuts international efforts to bring the opposing sides together at a peace conference. (ANI)