Syrian FM hails deployment of Russian S-300 air defense system

Source: Xinhua| 2018-10-03 08:31:24|Editor: Li Xia
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DAMASCUS, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- Syria's Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem said Tuesday that the Syrian sky will be protected by the Russian S-300 air defense system which has just been deployed.

Speaking in an interview with the pan-Arab al-Mayadeen TV Tuesday, al-Moallem hailed the deployment of the S-300 long-range surface-to-air missile system in Syria for helping bolster Syria's air defense against future Israeli airstrikes.

On Tuesday, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu told President Vladimir Putin that the S-300 system and dozens of additional hardware pieces have been delivered to Syria to boost the security of Russian personnel there.

The Russian move comes against the backdrop of the downing of a Russian surveillance plane by Syria air force's friendly fire last month during an Israeli air attack on Syrian military positions in Syria's Latakia province.

Russia squarely blamed the incident, which killed all 15 Russian aircrew aboard the plane, on Israel, which it said used the Russian plane as cover during the air raid.

Al-Moallem said that the deployment of the more advanced S-400 air defense system is the ambition of Syria.

He said the aim of the repeated Israeli attacks on Syrian military bases are aimed at eclipsing the victories of the Syrian army, which has recaptured over 90 percent of Syrian territories.

He said the situation is getting better in terms of protecting the Syrian airspace from the Israeli attacks, noting that the Russia-Syria relationship is at its best.

Meanwhile, al-Moallem said that the liberation of Idlib province in northwestern Syria, as well as the rebel-held areas in the countryside of Aleppo province and Hama province, will be included in the last chapter of fighting terrorism in Syria.

A recent Turkey-Russia agreement on building a demilitarized zone has averted a planned full offensive by the Syrian army to liberate Idlib, the last major rebel stronghold in Syria.

The buffer zone will be created on Oct.15 and the rebels will have to withdraw from these areas as well as their heavy weaponry. Some of the rebel groups, including the al-Qaida-linked ones, have been outright about their rejection of the deal.

But al-Moallem said Turkey, which has a sway over the rebel groups in Idlib, will likely live to its pledges in terms of pushing the rebels out of the demilitarized zone.

He said that the first step of liberating Idlib is for the rebels to hand over their heavy and medium weapons by December, noting that the local rebels who are originally from Idlib will remain in Idlib after a reconciliation process with the government.

As for the rebels from outside Idlib, al-Moallem said they should return to their cities, adding that foreign fighters in Idlib will have to return to their original countries en route Turkey.

The top Syrian diplomat also said the U.S. military presence in the al-Tanf base in southern Syria is "illegitimate."

He noted that recent Russia-U.S. talks have been focusing on dismantling the U.S. base in al-Tanf, saying that there is no need for a U.S. military base in southern Syria after the Syrian army liberated those areas from the Islamic State (IS) militants.

He also charged that the U.S. wasn't really fighting terrorism in Syria, adding that only the Syrian army and its allies are the ones liberating areas from IS in southern Syria.

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