The US general overseeing American forces in the Middle East said on Thursday Russia's deployment of the S-300 surface-to-air missile system in Syria was a needless escalation and called it a knee-jerk response to last month's downing of a Russian military aircraft.
Army General Joseph Votel, who leads the US Central Command, confirmed the deployment and added that it would help shield Iranian activities in Syria, which have triggered air raids by Israel.
An Israeli officer said Israel would overcome the challenges posed by the S-300.
Moscow said on Tuesday that it had delivered the S-300 following a decision it took after accusing Israel of indirect responsibility for the downing of a Russian spy plane by Syrian forces as they fired on attacking Israeli jets in September.
Responding to a question on whether Syria’s possession of S-300 surface-to-air missile system, Tzachi Hanegbi, Israel's regional cooperation minister and a non-voting member of its security cabinet, said on Wednesday: "Unequivocally, no."
"The operational abilities of the air force are such that those (S-300) batteries really do not constrain the air force's abilities to act," he said.
Referring to F-35 Joint Strike Fighters that Israel began receiving from the United States over a year ago, Hanegbi said: "You know that we have stealth fighters, the best planes in the world. These batteries are not even able to detect them."
