Russia ready to discuss with US advanced missile supply to Syria

MOSCOW, Sept 24 (KUNA) -- Russia is prepared to discuss with the US providing advanced missiles to Syria but Washington should not assume a "mentor's tone," Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Monday.
The nature and date of these discussions is currently being discussed by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his US counterpart Mike Pompeo, on the fringes of the United Nations General Assembly, he said.
Earlier, US National Security Adviser John Bolton remarked that Moscow's planned delivery of S300 missiles to Syria would lead to a "significant escalation" in the Syrian conflict.
In response, Ryabkov said the claims were "groundless" and "out of the question." Moscow took the decision after "thorough analysis of the situation," Ryabkov said, according to Interfax news agency.
At a press conference, he said that internal investigations reveal that Israeli warplanes, which had been targeted by Syrian air defences, hid behind a Russian IL-20 military aircraft, which was shot down in Syrian airspace last week. (end) as.sd