Putin offers S-400 missile systems to Saudi Arabia after drone attack
Saudi Arabia could buy Russian S-400 aerial defense systems to protect itself, proposed Russian President Vladimir Putin, as cited by the TASS news agency.
All that the Saudi authorities need to do is to “make a wise government decision” and buy the systems, which will “reliably protect all of Saudi Arabia’s facilities and infrastructure,” the Russian president remarked. He pointed out that Iran has already purchased S-300 systems and Turkey has bought S-400s.
When asked by reporters whether Riyadh should buy S-300s or S-400s, Putin replied, “Let them choose.”
The anti-air systems can reliably protect a country’s infrastructure, the Russian leader said at a press conference in Ankara following a meeting with the presidents of Turkey and Iran devoted to the situation in Syria.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who also spoke to the press after the summit in the Turkish capital, claimed that the drone attacks on the Saudi Aramco oil facility were a response from Yemen to the Saudi military’s actions in Yemen. “The people of Yemen have used their legitimate right to defense,” said Rouhani.
On September 14, a drone attack caused significant damage to an oil refinery and oil field in Saudi Arabia, significantly reducing the country’s oil export volumes. Yemenite Houthis have claimed responsibility for the attack, but the US and the Arab Coalition which supports the Yemenite government believe that Iran was behind it.
The Houthis have previously used drones to attack Saudi oil facilities, but without causing such serious problems.