Russia has defended that his country's anti-aircraft missile deal with Syria is legal and in line with international norms.

 

　　Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov.

 

　　"First, the contract on S-300s is absolutely legal, it's transparent and it's fully in line with the international norms and with the Russian export control legislation. Second, the contract hasn't been yet finalised. Third, the Americans are leaving Patriots after this exercise in Jordan, together with F-16 planes, and no one is asking them not to do this."

 

　　Russia signed a contract for the delivery of state-of-the art S-300 air defence missile systems to Syria, which has yet to be fulfilled.

 

　　Lavrov added that U.S. discussions about a possible no-fly zone in particular has encouraged the opposition to step up fighting instead of sitting down for talks.

 

　　"We must avoid confrontational debates and one-sided resolutions in the (United Nations) General Assembly and in the Human Rights Council because all this is not helping to create the atmosphere necessary to convene a conference."

 

　　At the recent G8 summit in Northern Ireland, international leaders backed calls for Syrian peace talks to be held in Geneva soon.

 

　　However, a timetable for the talks has yet to be agreed upon.