Delivering S-300 To Syria Necessary, Well-Justified After Il-20 Incident -Russian Lawmaker

Providing Syria with the advanced air defense system, S-300, is necessary and justified in the wake of the incident with the Russian Il-20 plane that crashed into the Mediterranean Sea last week killing all 15 crew, deputy chair of the Russian parliament's lower house's defense committee Yuri Shvytkin told Sputnik on Monday.

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 24th September, 2018) Providing Syria with the advanced air defense system, S-300, is necessary and justified in the wake of the incident with the Russian Il-20 plane that crashed into the Mediterranean Sea last week killing all 15 crew, deputy chair of the Russian parliament's lower house's defense committee Yuri Shvytkin told Sputnik on Monday.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said earlier in the day that S-300 would be delivered to Syria within two weeks, after the Russian military jet was downed by a missile launched by Syria's S-200 air defense system. The Syrian systems were targeting Israeli F-16 aircraft that were bombing Syrian targets in the province of Latakia. The Russian Defense Ministry laid the responsibility for the tragedy on Israel, stressing that Israeli aircraft used the Russian jet as a shield.

"We understand that S-300 is a high-precision, effective air defense weapon to fight the adversary's targets in the air. Of course, this is the response to ensure security of our troops in Syria, fighting terrorism. This measure is justified, necessary, I think; the decision is the right one," Shvytkin said.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) on Sunday denied hiding behind the Russian jet. The IDF said in a statement that the security of the Russian forces in Syria was always taken into consideration when Israel was planning any operation in the region. At the same time, Israel pledged to continue countering "Iran's incessant attempts to establish itself in Syria."