Russian military equipment is substandard crap. The Russians operate on the idea that “quantity has a quality all its own.” In particular, its air defense systems have been shown, time and again, to be overmatched by US airpower. Russia is trying to sell the S-300 to other countries and it is important to note that Lavrov’s moral concerns were eased by the fact that an Israeli F-16 had been downed by a Russian built anti-aircraft missile earlier in the year as anything else. The ability to shoot down Israeli aircraft was part of the sales pitch. Wednesday, Syrian anti-aircraft defenses were not even a nuisance to Israeli pilots. The writing was on the wall. The shootdown of the F-16 was not the new normal, it was blind luck. Did the Russians really want their top line missile, crewed by Arabs, going up against the Israeli Air Force? What would that do for sales?

It seems as though Russia has gotten the message that Israel is dead serious about shutting down Iranian adventurism in Syria. They are willing to maul the Syrians if they get in the way and, to the extent that Russian troops are collocated with Syrians, they could become collateral damage. By not selling the S-300 to Syria, Putin is sending a huge message to Iran and Syria. He doesn’t want any part of a fight with Israel. That is a damned wise decision on his part.