US questions Russia’s intentions after air defence system deployed in Syria

Russia announced that it has deployed advanced air defence missile systems to Syria.

Russia’s Ministry of Defence spokesman Majority General Igor Konashenkov said a battery of S-300 air defence missile systems were deployed to Syria to protect Russian facility in the Syrian port of Tartus and Russian navy ships off the Mediterranean coast.

The announcement, made fresh after failed peace talks, raised eyebrows in Washington which questioned Russian motives. Konashenkov, however, moved to dismiss the concerns stating that the deployment of advanced missile system “was a purely defensive system and poses no threat to anyone”, while adding that “it’s not quite clear why the deployment of the S-300 in Syria has so worried our Western colleagues.”

America swiftly questioned the reasons for the move stressing that Daesh has no aircrafts. Pentagon spokesman, Peter Cook, said: “Last I checked, the Russians said that their primary goal was to fight extremism, ISIL and Nusra, in Syria,” referring to Daesh and another group formerly known as Al-Nusra Front.

“Neither one has an air force,” added Cook, “so this is something we’ll watch carefully. But it should be clear to the Russians and everybody else operating in Syria how seriously we take the safety of our air crews.”

Concerns over the new deployment of anti- aircraft missiles follows calls for a no-fly zone over parts of Syria.