Russian Embassy tweets meme threatening to shoot down US aircraft in Syria
SUMMARY
Russia's embassy in the U.S. threatened that it might shoot down U.S. aircraft in Syria with its newly installed anti-aircraft missiles in a tweet Wednesday.
The embassy tweeted a meme featuring a picture of White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest and a Russian S-300 surface-to-air missile system.
All jokes aside, #Russia will take every defensive measure necessary to protect its personnel stationed in #Syria from terrorist threat. pic.twitter.com/6vc4X9lGyT
— Russian Embassy, USA (@RusEmbUSA) October 5, 2016
"USA wonder why Russia would want to carry the S-300 to Syria," read the meme's text. "Because you never really know what kind of assistance terrorists might get."
"All jokes aside, #Russia will take every defensive measure necessary to protect its personnel stationed in #Syria from terrorist threat," said the embassy's tweet.
U.S.-Russian relations have diminished significantly in the last week. The veiled threat is the latest in a series of provocative actions and statements Russia is making concerning U.S. involvement in Syria. Secretary of State John Kerry announced Monday that the U.S. would be suspending talks regarding the Syrian conflict after Russia's failure to abide by a mutually agreed ceasefire in September.
Diplomatic failures regarding Syria are forcing the Obama administration to reconsider its options in the five-year-long conflict, including "staff level"discussions that could include military strikes against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a key Russian ally. Russia responded to reports of the talks by warning that removal of Assad would cause "terrible tectonic shifts" in the Middle East.
The Russian Defense Ministry announced its deployment of the S-300 anti-aircraft missile system to its naval base in Tartus, Syria, Tuesday. A statement from the ministry claimed that the missile system, which can target both ballistic missiles and aircraft, was deployed in order to ensure the safety of the naval base.
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