The Russian Federation supplies modernized anti -aircraft complexes to Syria, says Reuters

Western journalists continue to say that Russia supplies weapons to Syria. The Russian Federation sends to the republic modernized anti-aircraft systems (ZRPK) "PAPIR-C1", reports Reuters with reference to informed sources. According to two officials who are referred to by the agency, this is part of the military support to President Bashar Assad, who has been fighting rebels for more than four years.

According to Reuters sources, Russian crews will manage complexes. Now combat vehicles are going to Syria, but so far they have not arrived there, the interlocutors of the agency indicated. The Russian source, close to the leadership of the Navy, told the agency that this supply was not carried out for the first time. Previously, such ZRPK, but not such a modern model, were sent to Syria in 2013.

MANPADS "PAPRI-C1" is intended for the near cover of civil and military facilities (including high-range air defense systems) from all modern and promising air attacks. It can also protect the defended object from ground and surface threats. He can knock down targets at an altitude of up to 15 kilometers. These heights are also available to the Buk air defense system , from which, supposedly, Boeing was shot down over Donbass.

This week, the Kommersant newspaper, citing a source in the field of military-technical cooperation with foreign states, wrote that "at the moment it is being conducted or close to the completion of" the supply of several batches of small arms, grenade launchers, armored personnel carriers of the BTR-82A, and military trucks "Ural".

Previously, the media reports on the supply of Russian weapons to the government of Bashar al -Assad. According to the press, BTRs, grenade launchers and trucks are supplied there. And Syria is calculated on an advance payment paid for the S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems, which Moscow decided not to supply after consultations with Israel.

Russian military in Syria

For several days, rumors were discussed that the military from Russia allegedly participated in hostilities in the territory of the Arab Republic. Following this, the leadership of the Russian Federation explained that we are talking about military instructors who have long been helping the Syrian military personnel to master the delivered weapons. As for the aircraft that fly from the Russian Federation to Syria, according to Russian diplomats, Russia sends military products to them in accordance with existing contracts and humanitarian assistance.

According to foreign media, Russia also plans to create its own air base in Latakia. The idea of ​​creating a Russian "service point" in Syria was really discussed, but the decision has not yet been made, they explained in Russia.

Lebanese sources, meanwhile, told Reuters that Russian troops began to participate in combat operations on behalf of the Assad government. Foreign journalists also studied the Russian social network VKontakte and found several photographs of the Russian military, which could be taken in Syria.

In favor of the fact that these people are fighting in the SAR, it is evidenced by the fact that they look too young to be “instructors” and “advisers”, which Moscow openly declared. At the same time, journalists note, at this stage nothing indicates that the authors of these photos take part in the hostilities on the side of Bashar al -Assad.

In the State Department, having analyzed the situation, they came to the conclusion that confrontation in Syria is possible between Russia and the forces of the international coalition.

The other day, Moscow also announced the conduct of naval exercises with rocket firing off the coast of Syria until September 17. This is evidenced by the notice for pilots (the so -called NOTAM), available inthe base of the US Federal Civil Aviation Department. From the document it follows that the exercises of the Russian Navy are held between September 8 and 17, about 70 km from the Syrian port of Tartus. In addition, a similarnotice reports on the exercises of the Russian fleet in the same Mediterranean region from September 30 to October 7, 2015.

Confrontation in Syria

Recall that in the summer of 2012 the diplomatic scandal almost caused the situation with the Alaid ship. In June, the British The Telegraph said that the dry load was carrying helicopters to Syria. In the Foreign Ministry, this information was first refuted (it follows from the material of Interfax ), but then they still recognized that the ship transported "three helicopters that took place in Russia in accordance with the contract from 2008." As a result, the ship never sailed to Syria.

The protests in Syria, which began in early 2011 in the framework of the Arab Spring with the requirements of reforms and the fight against corruption, by the summer grew into armed clashes and resulted in a civil war. During the confrontation, the troops of the President Bashar al -Assad, for which the opposition advocated the resignation, was used by chemical weapons, suspected in the West.

The world community made efforts to reconcile the authorities of Syria and the opposition. One of the peaceful initiatives was the plan of the special representative of the UN and the League of the Arab states (LAG) Kofi Annan, who failed . Negotiations of the Syria and opposition authorities were conducted in Geneva, in addition, a group of "friends of Syria" sought to contribute to the ceasefire. The conflict has been going on for more than four years, and the last year was complicated by the entry into it of the Islamic State terrorists, who took control of most of the country. During the conflict, tens of thousands of people died.