Russia will provide Syria with an S-300 missile defense system after accusing Israel of shooting down a Russian plane

MOSCOW – Russia announced on Monday that it would provide the Syrian government with more modern S-300 missile defense systems following the destruction of a Russian plane by Syria last week, a friendly fire incident that rocketed regional tensions. The Russian army the plane was shot down by a Syrian government missile defense systems, killing the 15 people on board. Russia clearly blamed Israel, saying that Israeli fighter jets had pushed the Russian plane onto Syria's line of fire.

Shortly before the fall, Israeli strikes hit targets inside Syria, preventing a delivery of arms to the militant group of Hezbollah backed by Iran, according to the Israeli army.

Russia launched its campaign in Syria to support President Bashar Assad in 2015, and although involvement turned the war on Syrian government forces, Moscow tried to maintain a good balance between Iran and Israel.

For its part, Israel is wary of Iran's growing influence in Syria, which brings its sworn enemy closer to its borders. The fall of last week has put the relationship between Russia and Israel to the test.

President Vladimir Putin first issued a note of reconciliation, calling into question this "chain of tragic and fatal circumstances". But the Russian army came out on Sunday, renewing accusations against Israel.

Russian officials said Syria's S-200 systems were not sophisticated enough to identify the Russian aircraft as a friendly aircraft.

Monday's statement by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Russia would send S-300 missile defense systems to Syria in the next two weeks. Earlier in the war, Russia suspended a supply of S-300, which Israel feared Syria could use against it.

Shoigu said that Russia would now proceed with the expedition because "the situation has changed and it is not our fault". He also said Russia would start shipping planes electronically to attack targets in Syria.

"We are confident that these measures will calm some of the exalted and prevent them from taking careless measures that pose a threat to our troops," Shoigu said.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov told Russian news agencies that supplying the S-300 to Syria was "clean" of Russia and expressed confidence that it would not hurt relations with Israel.

The Kremlin said that Russia's decision was not directed against anyone and was only used to protect Russian troops in Syria. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that recent findings by the Russian army showed that an Israeli plane had "deliberately" pushed the Russian I-20 into the line of fire, allowing it to descend.

The increased role of Russia in Syria allowed Assad forces, which had lost ground against the armed opposition, to gain the upper hand and regain a large territory held by the rebels.

In recent months, the government has taken over many areas controlled by the opposition. And last week, Russia reached an agreement with Turkey that avoided a Russia-backed offensive against Idlib province in the north-west of the country, one of the last areas under government control. .

Idlib, controlled by a mixture of radical groups and an armed opposition backed by Turkey, overlooks the Syrian coast where Russia's military and air bases are located and was reportedly the target of rebel fire.

Shortly after the announcement of Moscow, the office of the Syrian President said that Assad had received a call from Vladimir Putin and that the two men had discussed the latest developments, including the Idlib agreement and the delivery of S-300.

According to the statement, Putin reiterated that Russia held Israel responsible for the destruction of the Russian aircraft. The Russian president also informed Assad about the delivery of the S-300.

Assad expressed his condolences for the death of the Russian airmen, saying that they "were carrying out a noble mission, fighting against terrorism in Syria".

The Kremlin confirmed the appeal, saying that Assad and Putin had discussed the need to "achieve sustainable normalization in Syria and restore its sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity".