{"id":254954,"date":"2016-10-04T21:10:58","date_gmt":"2016-10-04T21:10:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=254954"},"modified":"2016-10-04T21:10:58","modified_gmt":"2016-10-04T21:10:58","slug":"russia-sends-missile-system-to-tartus-base","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2016\/10\/russia-sends-missile-system-to-tartus-base\/","title":{"rendered":"Russia sends missile system to Tartus base"},"content":{"rendered":"
Russia has confirmed it has sent an S-300 air defence missile system to its naval base in Syria’s port of Tartus.<\/p>\n
Defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said the purpose of the system was to guarantee the security of the base from the air.<\/p>\n
The move comes amid growing tension with the West. On Monday, the US halted talks with Russia on trying to co-ordinate air strikes against jihadists.<\/p>\n
A ceasefire brokered by Washington and Moscow collapsed last month.<\/p>\n
“Let me remind you that the S-300 is a purely defensive system and poses no threat to anyone,” Maj-Gen Konashenkov said.<\/p>\n
“It is unclear why the deployment of the S-300 caused such alarm among our Western partners.”<\/p>\n
The spokesman said the system was similar to one earlier deployed at sea on the cruiser Moskva.<\/p>\n