Russia’s refusal to send Iran weapons and military equipment, in particular S-300 should be regarded in the context of recent developments in the Russian-U.S. relations, Andrey Areshev, the Deputy Director General, Russian Strategic Culture Foundation, told NEWS.am.

According to him, presently the ratification process of START treaty -signed between Washington and Moscow in Prague- is ongoing in the U.S. “It is very difficult for Obama’s Administration to pass the document, as he has a lot of opponents among the right-wing. Thus, the White House requires additional steps confirming the success in the Russian-US cooperation. In this context Moscow’s decision is a kind of support to Obama’s Administration,” the expert said. He also stressed that it is difficult to estimate the efficiency of this step. However, this decision may negatively impact on Russia’s role in the Middle East, Areshev added.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev banned supply of S-300 systems, military equipment, combat aircrafts, helicopters and vessels. It is provided by the decree on measures implementing UN Security Council resolution as of June 9, 2010. As NEWS.sm reported earlier, on Sep. 22, Nikolai Markov, Chief of the Russian armed forces told the journalists that the decision to block supplies was made due to current sanctions against Iran. The agreement on supplies of S-300 air-defense systems was signed in 2007. In accordance with the treaty, Russia had to supply five batteries of S-300 to Iran amounting about $800 million.