Russian Lawmaker Klintsevich Calls Deliveries Of S-300 Systems To Syria 'Forced Step'

Moscow's decision to deliver its S-300 air defense systems to Syria is a forced step taken in light of Russia's Il-20 military jet crash in the Arab republic and the refusal of the Israeli party to admit responsibility for the incident, a member of the Russian parliament's upper house's defense committee, Frants Klintsevich, told reporters on Monday.

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 24th September, 2018) Moscow's decision to deliver its S-300 air defense systems to Syria is a forced step taken in light of Russia's Il-20 military jet crash in the Arab republic and the refusal of the Israeli party to admit responsibility for the incident, a member of the Russian parliament's upper house's defense committee, Frants Klintsevich, told reporters on Monday.

Earlier in the day, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced measures on increasing security of Russian servicemen in response to the crash of Russian Il-20 military aircraft in Syria, which Russia believes Israel was responsible for. According to the minister, Russia would equip the Syrian air defense forces' command posts with automatic control systems, which had been previously possessed only by Russia, jam satellite navigation, on-board radars and communication systems of combat aviation attacking Syrian targets and, most importantly, supply S-300 air defense systems to Syria.

"This is a forced step ... It is clear that this measure by Russia is directly related to Il-20 crash and Israel's reluctance to admit responsibility for the tragedy in the Syrian airspace," Klintsevich indicated.

The Russian senator also accused the Israeli military of further escalating the situation by its pledges to continue its airstrikes in Syria.

"In other words, this means that there are no guarantees that the incident will not happen again ... We have no other choice. We waited as long as it was possible, hoping for Israel's understanding. Unfortunately, this did not happen," Klintsevich stressed.

Announcing the deliveries of the Russian air defense systems, Shoigu indicated that Russia suspended the shipments of S-300 systems to Syria at Israel's request in 2013, but stressed that since then the situation had changed and not through the fault of Russia.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) on Sunday denied hiding behind the Russian jet from Syrian air defenses. 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."