Thinking about targeting military airports in Syria is a ‘dangerous game,’ claims Russian FM

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Sunday that thinking about targeting Syrian military airbases is a “dangerous game” and noted that his country’s aircraft are there at the request of Syria’s “legitimate government,” Russia’s First Channel TV has reported. “This is a very dangerous game given that Russia has got air defence systems there to protect its assets at two bases used by its air force.”

The foreign minister said that Russia knows that US troops understand this, and ruled out that outgoing American President Barack Obama would accept such a scenario.

Lavrov suggested that there has been a full shift in Russia-US relations, and accused the Americans of spreading Russophobia. “We have witnessed a fundamental change of circumstances when it comes to the aggressive Russophobia that now lies at the heart of US policy towards Russia,” he claimed.

“It is not just rhetorical Russophobia, but aggressive steps that really hurt our national interests and pose a threat to our security.” He cited US stances on Ukraine as well as Syria to support his argument.