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Russia Surprises US with Deploying Missile System in Syria

“S-300” long-range air-defense system at al-Tabqah airbase (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights)
“S-300” long-range air-defense system at al-Tabqah airbase (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights)
    Qamishli, Damascus – Asharq Al-Awsat
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Russia Surprises US with Deploying Missile System in Syria

“S-300” long-range air-defense system at al-Tabqah airbase (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights)
“S-300” long-range air-defense system at al-Tabqah airbase (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights)

Russian forces have deployed a long-range air-defense system (S-300) in al-Tabqah airbase in Syria’s northeastern Raqqa governorate, where US forces were deployed after expelling ISIS, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.

By the end of 2018, Russia had deployed its S-300 system in Syria’s Deir Ezzor, which is under the control of the Syria regime. This took place at a time when the areas east of the Euphrates were in the hands of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces.

However, spheres of military influence shifted after former US President Donald Trump having allowed the Turkish army to jump in between Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ain, opening doors to Russian, Turkish and Syrian forces to the east of the Euphrates River.

Also, this allowed for the spread of Iranian militias in the countryside of Deir Ezzor on the second bank of the river.

The Observatory said that al-Tabqah base “is currently considered a military base and an important location for Russia in the countryside of Raqqa.”

According to the UK-based war monitor, the Russian army has deployed advanced S-300 and S-400 advanced missile systems in various areas in western Syria.

According to military experts, the S-300 system allows Russia to monitor military movements in northeastern Syria.

At the moment, northeast Syria is witnessing drone attacks by Turkey against Kurdish forces, Israeli bombing of Iranian militia sites, and Iranian militia attacks against US military assets east of the Euphrates and at Al-Tanf base.

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UNDP Plans for $1.3Bln in Help for Syria

People wait their turn in a queue outside an ATM in Damascus on April 16, 2025. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)
People wait their turn in a queue outside an ATM in Damascus on April 16, 2025. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)
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UNDP Plans for $1.3Bln in Help for Syria

People wait their turn in a queue outside an ATM in Damascus on April 16, 2025. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)
People wait their turn in a queue outside an ATM in Damascus on April 16, 2025. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)

The United Nations Development Program is hoping to deliver $1.3 billion over three years to support war-ravaged Syria, including by rebuilding infrastructure and backing digital start-ups, its assistant secretary-general told Reuters.
Abdallah Dardari told Reuters in Damascus that investing in Syria - hit hard by 14 years of conflict that ended when former leader Bashar al-Assad was ousted by a rebel offensive in December and fled the country - was seen as a "global public good."
"Our total plan for Syria over three years is $1.3 billion. This is not just a number, but a comprehensive strategy covering all support aspects," Dardari said. He said that help could include introducing artificial intelligence, setting up social protection programs and rebuilding infrastructure.
He said it would be crucial to mobilize funds from different sources including the World Bank and International Monetary Fund as well as other countries in the region.
Since Assad was toppled last year after a nearly 14-year civil war, his successors have called on the international community to lift sanctions imposed against the country during his rule.
So far, most of those sanctions remain in place, with the United States and other Western countries saying the new authorities still need to demonstrate a commitment to peaceful and inclusive rule.
Syria has $563 million in Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) at the IMF. But using the funds requires approval by IMF members holding 85% of the total votes, giving the United States, with 16.5% of the votes, an effective veto.
Syria's finance minister, central bank governor and foreign minister are planning on attending the spring meetings next week, Reuters reported earlier this month.
It would be the first visit to the meetings by a high-level Syrian government delegation in at least two decades, and the first high-level visit by Syria's new authorities to the US Assad's fall.
Washington has handed Syria a list of conditions which, if fulfilled, could lead to some sanctions relief, Reuters reported last month. Dardari said that sanctions remained "a considerable obstacle" to Syria's growth trajectory.
"Syria needs tens of billions of dollars in investments and in technical assistance and so on, and that cannot happen with such heavy sanctions imposed on the country," he said, calling for sanctions "to be lifted in a comprehensive manner." Dardari said UNDP had secured a sanctions exemption from the US Treasury to mobilize up to $50 million to repair the Deir Ali power plant south of Damascus.
Three sources familiar with the issue told Reuters the World Bank is exploring hundreds of millions of dollars in grants to improve Syria's electricity grid and support the public sector.
Syria's central bank governor Abdelkader Husrieh told Reuters that his country wanted to be compliant with global financial standards but that sanctions were still "blocking the economy from going forward".
"We want to be part of the international financial system and hope that the international community will help us to remove any obstacle to this integration," he said.