MOSCOW, Sept. 24 (UPI) -- The Iranian ambassador to Russia said Moscow's refusal to sell its S-300 air defense systems to Iran would negatively impact Russian public opinion.
Ambassador Mahmoud-Reza Sajjadi said during an interview Friday with the Islamic Republic News Agency that quite aside from the impact on Russian public opinion, voiding the deal will raise questions about Russia's steadfastness as a supplier of advanced arms.
In recent years the Russian Federation has struggled to increase its share of the global arms market, currently dominated by the United States.
Sajjadi pointed out that many Russians would question why the United States recently agreed to provide more than $125 billion in advanced arms sales to Middle Eastern countries but that Russia, by canceling its contract with Iran, would limit its already minority share of the regional arms market, shrinking both its source of income and future revenue opportunities.
The S-300 sale was worth an estimated $1 billion.
