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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
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| Putin defends arms sales to Syrian regime | Putin defends arms sales to Syrian regime |
| (4 months later) | |
| Vladimir Putin has defended Russian arms sales to the Syrian government but said Moscow had not yet delivered advanced S-300 air defence systems to Damascus. | Vladimir Putin has defended Russian arms sales to the Syrian government but said Moscow had not yet delivered advanced S-300 air defence systems to Damascus. |
| On Tuesday, the Russian president told a news conference after a summit with European Union leaders that Russia did not want to upset the military balance in the region and all its arms sales to Syria were in line with international law. | On Tuesday, the Russian president told a news conference after a summit with European Union leaders that Russia did not want to upset the military balance in the region and all its arms sales to Syria were in line with international law. |
| Syria's president, Bashar al-Assad, claimed last week the missiles were on their way but later reports in the Russian media said the first shipment would not arrive until the middle of next year. | Syria's president, Bashar al-Assad, claimed last week the missiles were on their way but later reports in the Russian media said the first shipment would not arrive until the middle of next year. |
| One defence source told the Kommersant daily that according to contracts signed in 2010, Moscow is due to deliver six sets of the S-300 systems by spring 2014. Another source said it would take another six months for the Syrian military to be trained to use them. | One defence source told the Kommersant daily that according to contracts signed in 2010, Moscow is due to deliver six sets of the S-300 systems by spring 2014. Another source said it would take another six months for the Syrian military to be trained to use them. |
| Russia's foreign ministry has been reluctant to discuss an exact time frame for the missile shipments. The deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, last week said: "I can only say that we won't cancel the contracts." | Russia's foreign ministry has been reluctant to discuss an exact time frame for the missile shipments. The deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, last week said: "I can only say that we won't cancel the contracts." |
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