A report by the Russian newspaper Kommersant confirms that Russia’s government has signed a contract with Syria for MiG-31E fighter jets in 2007, but has no plans to deliver them.
The lack of payment, which was to come from Iran, is not the only reason for stalling the deal. Clearly, Russia can go only so far in confronting American interests in the Middle East, and avoids supplying advanced jets to the Syrian-Iranian coalition. Another reason for hesitation is that Russian officials do not want the US Treasury to go after their foreign bank accounts.
Even with a few dozen advanced jets, the Syrian Air Force would remain negligible compared to IAF.
