Russia sends anti-aircraft missiles to Syria

The commander of the Russian Air Force says Russia has sent anti-aircraft missiles to Syria in order to safeguard its jets involved in airstrikes against militants in the war-battered Arab country.

Col. Gen. Viktor Bondarev said in an interview with the daily Komsomolskaya Pravda published on Thursday that Russia's fighter jets could be attacked or high-jacked while on their missions. He did not specify the type of missiles Russia provided.

"We have calculated all possible threats. We have sent not only fighter jets, bombers and helicopters, but also missile systems," Bondarev told Pravda, the official newspaper.

"There can be different emergencies, such as hijacking the jet on the territory of a neighboring country or an attack on it," he said. "We should be prepared for that."

Bondarev did not specify the type of missiles Russia provided.

Russia has been carrying out airstrikes on Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) fighters in Syria since the end of September at the request of President Bashar al-Assad, Russia's long-term ally.

Russian officials insist that their military involvement in Syrian will be limited to an air force operation.

Russia and Western nations have been engaged in intense diplomatic talks in the past few weeks, aiming to bring about a political settlement in Syria, which has been torn by a civil war since 2011 that has killed 250,000 people and forced millions to flee.

Wire services