Russia to proceed with S-300 deal with Syria

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Thursday that Russia would carry out the agreement on the S-300 air-defense missile system with Syria. Speaking at the Russian state-run Rossiya 24 TV Lavrov said the contracts were not finished yet and thus S-300 air-defense missiles were not delivered fully. "We respect all our contracts and are honoring all our contractual obligations," Lavrov said. Russia has been supportive of Syria's embattled President Bashar al-Assad and announced last month that Russia agreed to sell advanced S-300 air-defense missiles to Syria. Lavrov said Russia was not sure if western countries could persuade the Syrian opposition to attend a planned peace conference to be held on Syria in Geneva.