Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov tells a press conference that the transfer of S-300 missiles to Iran is not a threat to Israel.
Lavrov says the advanced air-defense system, which Israel and the US have lobbied against Iran receiving, is “purely defensive,” according to Interfax, quoted by Bloomberg News.
The system won’t “threaten the security of any state in the region, including, of course, Israel,” he says.
Lavrov says Putin’s move to lift the block on transferring the weapon system was done after the deal between world powers and Tehran made the self-imposed embargo unnecessary.
He adds that Russia did not want to continue outlaying money to prevent the deal and hints that Moscow was unhappy with international pressure to quash the sale.
“We could not have disregarded the commercial and reputation aspect. As you know, we bear serious financial outlays in connection with the suspension of the contract, and we do not deem such a position necessary any longer,” he said, according to Interfax.
Tehran filed a $4-billion lawsuit against a Russian defense exporter for holding up the $800-million deal in 2010.
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