The Russian Defense Ministry's plans to supply the state-of-the-art missile systems to Syria following recent Western airstrikes against the war-weary country is a cause of serious concern for Israel, Humeidi Abdallah said.
“The Israeli factor is playing a big role in the implementation of the agreement [about the S-300 delivery to Syria] which Tel Aviv will try to thwart or put on hold,” he added.
Humeidi Abdallah added that the deployment of the missiles in Syria will change the balance of forces in the entire region, impact the course of the Arab-Israeli conflict and the situation with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
He added that defense of Syrian airspace against enemy airstrikes serves the interests of both Moscow and Damascus.
Humeidi Abdallah believes that if Western nations and Israel continue their attacks on Damascus, Russia will speed up the delivery of the advanced air defense systems to its Syrian partner.
“The Syrian government is restocking its armories with modern Russian weapons and is modernizing the air defense systems it bought from Russia decades ago,” the analyst noted.
Israel’s Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman has warned that Israel will strike the S-300 batteries in Syria if they are used against Israel.
“What’s important to us is that the defensive weapons the Russians are giving Syria won’t be used against us. If they’re used against us, we’ll act against them,” Lieberman told the Ynet media outlet.
READ MORE: Lavrov on Russia's S-300 Supplies to Syria: It's No Secret, But Not Decided Yet
Earlier, media reports said that Russia could start supplying S-300 missiles to create a layered air defense system in Syria.
The Kremlin has declined to comment on reports with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov saying that Moscow had not decided yet if it would supply its S-300 long-range surface-to-air missile systems to Syria.
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