MOSCOW – Russia has sent anti-aircraft
missiles to Syria in order to safeguard its jets
involved in airstrikes against militants in the
war-battered Arab country, the commander of
the Russian Air Force was quoted as saying
Thursday.
Russia has been carrying out airstrikes on
Islamic State fighters in Syria since the end of
September at the request of President Bashar
Assad, Russia's long-term ally.
Russian officials have insisted that their military
involvement in Syria will be limited to an air
force operation.
Col. Gen. Viktor Bondarev said in an interview
with the daily Komsomolskaya Pravda that the
anti-aircraft missiles are there to project
Russian fighter jets from a possible attack or
hijack while on mission.
"There can be different emergencies, such as
hijacking the jet on the territory of a
neighboring country or an attack on it," he said.
"We should be prepared for that."
Bondarev did not specify the type of missiles
Russia provided.
Russia and Western nations have been engaged
in intense diplomatic talks in the past few
weeks, aiming to bring about a political
settlement in Syria, which has been torn by a
civil war since 2011 that has killed 250,000
people and forced millions to flee.
A Russian deputy foreign minister said earlier
this week that Moscow is aiming to host a
round of talks between Syrian officials and
opposition leaders next week. He said the
Syrian government has agreed to participate
but it's unclear which opposition groups might
come.
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