U.S. Warns Russia against Selling Missile System to Syria

The U.S. warned Russia on Monday against providing Syria with the S-300 missile system, with national-security adviser John Bolton arguing that the move would mark a “significant escalation” in already-high tensions in the war-torn Middle Eastern country.

The development comes after Syrian government missile-defense systems downed a Russian military plane over Syria last week, killing all 15 personnel on board. Russian president Vladimir Putin originally said the incident was the result of a “chain of tragic, fatal circumstances.” But Kremlin officials subsequently blamed Israel for the disaster, saying that Israeli fighter jets “deliberately” pushed the Il-20 reconnaissance aircraft into the line of fire, and that Syria’s S-200 surface-t0-air-missile system was not advanced enough to recognize the Russian plane as friendly. As a result, Russia decided to supply Syria with the more sophisticated S-300 system in the next two weeks.

“The situation has changed, and it’s not our fault,” said Russian defense minister Sergei Shoigu of the decision. “We are convinced that these measures will calm down some hotheads and keep them from careless actions which pose a threat to our troops.”

Russia has backed Syrian president Bashar al-Assad’s brutal regime since 2015, and its support has contributed to Assad’s recent recapture of many rebel-held provinces.

Earlier this month, the Trump administration warned Syria and its foreign allies not to wage a bloody attack on the Idlib province, one of the last rebel-held areas in the conflict. Turkey also warned against such an attack, saying it would turn the province, which holds around 3 million people, into a “lake of blood.”