Russia will not hand over anti air-system S-300 to Syria. So declared Vladimir Kozhin, the foreign aid adviser to the Kremlin.

The declaration came following two events: the visit of the Israeli Prime Minister, Benyamin Netanyahu, to Moscow on 9 May and the missile fire exchange on 10 May between forces present on both sides of the line of demarcation of Golan occupied by Israel.

Moscow had mentioned that it might hand over the anti air system S-300 following the Western bombing (United States, United Kingdom and France) that took place on 14 April 2018 against the Syrian Arab Republic.

How to decode this declaration not to hand over? The Russian Federation, which protects the Syrian air space, does not wish the Syrian Arab Army to be held liable for defending Iranian military sites on Syrian soil.