Russia May Supply Syria With Other Defense Systems Along S-300 After Il-20 Crash -Lawmaker

Russia May Supply Syria With Other Defense Systems Along S-300 After Il-20 Crash -Lawmaker

Russia may supply Syria with other defense equipment in addition to the S-300 air defense system to ensure safety of its troops following the fatal crash of a Russian Il-20 plane last week, Viktor Bondarev, the chairman of the Russian parliament's upper house Defense and Security Committee, said on Monday.

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 24th September, 2018) Russia may supply Syria with other defense equipment in addition to the S-300 air defense system to ensure safety of its troops following the fatal crash of a Russian Il-20 plane last week, Viktor Bondarev, the chairman of the Russian parliament's upper house Defense and Security Committee, said on Monday.

Earlier in the day, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced that Russia would take a number of measures to boost safety of its troops in Syria, including the deliveries of the S-300 system, in the wake of the Il-20 crash.

"Deployment of the S-300 system will strengthen air defense of the Hmeimim base and protect our servicemen. Possibly, this system will not be the only one transferred there in the nearest future," Bondarev said.

On September 17, the Russian Hmeimim air base in Syria lost contact with the crew of the military aircraft, which was monitoring the situation on the ground in Syria's Idlib province. At the same time, four Israeli F-16 jets were hitting Syrian targets in Latakia province. According to Shoigu, Israel had not notified the Russian military of its airstrikes until only one minute before the fact and failed to provide the location of its bombers to Russia. As a result, the Il-20 was caught in the crossfire and downed by a missile launched by Syria's S-200 air defense system.

Russia has blamed the incident, which claimed the lives of 15 troops, on Israel and said that the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) used the Russian Il-20 as a shield.