Syria 'will not receive Russian S-300 missiles for at least a year'
Source: The Guardian
Syria 'will not receive Russian S-300 missiles for at least a year'
Alexander Winning in Moscow
guardian.co.uk, Friday 31 May 2013 09.42 BST
Syrian government forces will not receive the first shipment of S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems until the middle of next year, Russian media have reported.
One defence source told the Kommersant daily that according to contracts signed in 2010, Moscow is due to deliver six sets of the S-300 systems by spring 2014. Another source said it would take another six months for the Syrian military to be trained to use them.
The report contradicts assertions made on Thursday by Syria's president, Bashar al-Assad, that the systems were on their way.
The Vedomosti newspaper reported that Russia would send four S-300 systems to Syria as part of a contract worth $1bn (£660m), but that it was unclear when the arms would arrive.
[font size=1]
-snip-[/font]
Read more:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/may/31/syria-russian-s-300-missiles