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Russia will place several new S-400 Triumf air defense systems near its borders in 2012, Air Force Commander Alexander Zelin said.
“The Russian Armed Forces will receive several S-400 air defense systems this year,” Zelin told RIA Novosti on Monday. “This time they will be deployed in air defense units guarding [Russia’s] border regions.”
Zelin did not specify the deployment locations for new S-400 units, but some of them will most likely be placed in the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad as part of the response to the planned European missile shield initiative, which Moscow considers as a threat to its national security.
The S-400 (SA-21 Growler) air defense system is expected to form the cornerstone of Russia's theater air and missile defenses by 2020.
The S-400 can engage targets at a range of up to 400 km and an altitude of 40,000-50,000 meters. The system uses an array of assets optimized for engaging ballistic and cruise missiles.
An S-400 air defense regiment consists of two or three battalions equipped with four systems each. Russia is planning to arm 56 battalions with S-400 systems by 2020.
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Russia does not rule out its participation in a potential UN peacekeeping mission to Syria, Russian Presidential Middle East Ambassador Mikhail Bogdanov said on Monday.
“As for such a mission, an agreement with the Syrian government is needed. There would be a question about its members, mandate and disposition,” Bogdanov told Ekho Moskvy FM.
Syria on Sunday rejected an Arab League resolution calling for a joint UN-Arab peacekeeping force in the country and tightened economic sanctions on Damascus.
“If we agree the terms of the mission’s presence in the country, if the principles of the UN organization charter are fulfilled, there will be no problem,” Bogdanov said.
Also on Monday, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said it would temporarily halt the operation of the Russian Embassy School in Damascus. “The decision was taken for the safety of the children studying there.”
The Russian embassy itself continues normal operations, the ministry added.
The Arab League has been at the forefront of regional efforts to end violence in Syria. The group put forward a plan that Assad agreed to in December, and then sent monitors to Syria.
The League withdrew its monitoring mission from Syria in January because the regime failed to end the bloodshed.
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