The head of aircraft maker MiG said on Friday that Russia was mulling providing Syria with 10 MiG-29 fighter planes and was discussing details with a Syrian delegation
The head of aircraft maker MiG said on Friday that Russia was mulling providing Syria with 10 MiG-29 fighter planes and was discussing details with a Syrian delegation, RIA news agency reported.
Meanwhile, there were contradicting reports in Russia on when Moscow is scheduled to deliver the S-300 anti-aircraft missiles to Syria.
Two Russian newspapers, Vedomosti and Kommersant, cited different sources as saying the weapons delivery is not expected before next year, rejecting claims the missiles had already been transferred to the Syrian government, according to AFP.
The Vedomosti cited a Russia defense source as saying it was unclear if the weapons would be delivered to Syria this year, while the Kommersant quoted a source as saying the delivery was only planned for the second quarter of 2014.
In a separate report on Russian news agency Interfax, a Russian arms industry source said Moscow is unlikely to deliver the missiles before the fall of 2013. The source suggested the delivery could be accelerated if neighboring countries carried out air attacks on Syria or if a no-fly regime were to be imposed on the country.
Speaking about the delivery of the S-300 to Syria, President Bashar Al-Assad told Al-Manar that Russia is “committed to the deal and neither [Prime Minister Binyamin] Netanyahu’s visit nor the current crisis will influence the importing of arms.”
“The contracts with Russia are not linked to the crisis and Russia is committed to implementing these contracts,” he said. “Everything we have agreed on with Russia will take place, and part of it has already taken place.”