Russia has right to deliver S-300 to Iran: Analyst

Press TV has conducted an interview with Dmitry Babich, radio host with the Voice of Russia in Moscow, about Russia saying it will “soon” deliver S-300 surface-to-air missile defense system to Iran.

The following is a rough transcription of the interview.

Press TV: How significant is the delivery of these S-300 air defense missile systems to Iran as far as Iran-Russia bilateral relations go?

Babich: Well I think it is very important because if you had told me that about one year and a half ago, I would not believe that Russia would dare [make] such a move because certainly it would be negatively seen by the United States and the European Union.

But during the last year and a half the United States and the European Union, they went beyond all their legal and moral limitations. They started a war in Ukraine, actually I want to stress it, they started another war in Europe in 2014 by directly toppling the legitimately elected president. They made a horrid number of outrageous statements such as saying that Russia was the greatest danger to humanity after Ebola, even bigger than the so-called Islamic State in Iraq and Syria; Mr. Obama made the statement at the United Nations...Russia obviously sympathizes with Iran now a lot more than it did two years ago or three years ago. We understand the logic of Iran now much better than we did.

Press TV: So Mr. Babich, this is in your words basically, Russia’s move towards the east where it is trying to strengthen ties with countries that are not necessarily aligned with the Western/NATO front?

Babich: Yes and it is not just a movement in search of new partners. Of course Russia does not want to be isolated and now that we see that the European Union is the same as the United States, sometimes even worse, of course we are forced to look for partners around the world and we are prepared to welcome partners in Asia, in Latin America, in Africa, everywhere. But also I think that it is also a moral obligation of Russia to help Iran protect itself because during the civil war in Syria, during the emergence of the so-called Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, Iran was the only country besides Russia which quite logically and consequently fought against terrorism, against the…radicalism which is in fact I think something like [ inaudible] anti-Islamic and anti-Christian radicalism. So Iran has behaved in a very, very dignified way during all of these years, I would say during the last five or six years at least.

So in this situation it simply makes no sense to stick to the old limitations and let me remind you that the United States and the EU themselves made certain progress towards Iran. In April they promised to sign an agreement lifting sanctions imposed on Iran. So Russia is in its full right to establish military and technical cooperation with Iran.  

AHK/MKA

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