Syrian President Bashar Assad yesterday was quoted as saying his regime has received from Russia a first shipment of sophisticated anti-aircraft missiles — game-changing weapons that are bound to further raise regional tension, particularly with Israel whose defense chief has called them a threat.
In a new setback to international efforts to end Syria’s civil war, the main Western-backed Syrian opposition group announced that it would not participate in UN-sponsored peace talks that were to have been launched in Geneva.
The decision could torpedo the only peace plan the international community has been able to rally behind, although prospects for its success appeared doubtful from the start.
Assad made the comments about the arrival of the long-range S-300 air defense missiles in an interview with Lebanon’s Hezbollah-owned TV station Al-Manar.
US National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said: “Providing additional weapons to Assad will only prolong the violence in Syria and incite regional destabilization.”
The S-300s would bolster Syria’s air defense, including against possible attacks from Israel, which earlier this month launched two airstrikes on suspected weapons shipments near the Syrian capital Damascus.
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