Russia's deployment of missile systems in Syria to complicate situation: U.S. embassy

Russia's decision to deploy S-400 missile systems in Syria will complicate the situation in the country, the U.S. Embassy in Moscow said Thursday.

"Such systems will further complicate an already difficult situation in the skies over Syria and do nothing to further the fight against the Islamic State as they have no air force," the Interfax news agency quoted the embassy's press officer William Stevens as saying.

"We expect that if Russia follows through, it will abide by our memorandum of understanding regarding flight safety and not direct this system against coalition aircraft," the official added.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Wednesday that President Vladimir Putin had ordered the deployment of the S-400 surface-to-air missile systems at the Hmeimim air base in Syria, where Russia's air force is stationed, in order to allegedly raise its air defense capacity following the downing of a Russian Su-24 warplane by Turkey.

The S-400 Triumf, a new-generation anti-aircraft missile system, is capable of hitting an airborne target at a distance of up to 400 km with medium- and long-range missiles. Endi