Russia is helping Syria modernize its air defense system.

Illustration photo: AP

“We are helping our Syrian partners restore, modernize and increase the effectiveness of the integrated air defense system,” he said when asked how well Syria was protected against the possibility of Western countries launching airstrikes.

“There is still much work to be done because everything has been severely damaged, but certain results can already be seen,” the Russian ambassador affirmed.

In late April, the head of the Russian General Staff's operations department, Sergei Rudskoi, said that Syria would soon receive new air defense systems and promised that Russian specialists would help the Syrian army master them. He did not mention the details of the systems, only saying that the S-125, Osa and Kvadrat systems used by the Syrian army had been restored and modernized with Russian assistance.

In late August, the Russian Defense Ministry warned of a possible provocation planned by militants under the supervision of British agents in Syria's Idlib province. According to the ministry, the militants are planning to stage the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government army against civilians in order to give the US, UK and France a pretext to launch airstrikes against Syrian government and economic facilities.