Russia will honor its controversial contract to deliver S-300 air defense missile systems to Syria, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Thursday.
"We respect all our contracts and are honoring all our contractual obligations," Lavrov said in an interview with state-run Rossia 24 television. "As yet, the contracts are not finished, they have not been delivered in full," he added.
Russia last month acknowledged that it had agreed to sell Syria advanced S-300 air-defense missiles, which are considered to be the cutting edge in aircraft interception technology.
Russia has stood by Syrian President Bashar Assad during the two-year civil war, blocking several U.N. resolutions and calls for his ouster. The death toll from the conflict is at least 93,000.
Lavrov said Russia would block all demands for the Assad government's resignation at a planned peace conference to be held in Geneva. He said those calls were a "direct affront to us and the Americans" from unnamed Gulf states.
No date has been set for the conference, which Lavrov blamed on Western countries' fears they would not be able to "prevail upon" the Syrian opposition to attend.
Lavrov renewed Russia's objections to a potential no-fly zone in Syria, which the S-300 systems would make extremely difficult to implement, and said Western plans to arm the opposition would see most weapons fall into the hands of Jabhat al-Nusra, an al-Qaida affiliate that is believed to be among the most effective rebel factions.
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
![paiment methods](https://static.themoscowtimes.com/img/contribute/payment_icons.png)
Remind me later.