Putin informed Assad of response measures after Il-20 crash: Kremlin

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday held a telephone conversation with his Syrian counterpart Bashar Assad and informed him of the response measures after the crash of Russia's Il-20 military aircraft, the Kremlin press service said in a statement.

"On the initiative of the Syrian side, President Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with Syrian President Bashar Assad... The Russian president informed him about the decision to implement a number of additional measures to ensure the security of the Russian military in Syria and to strengthen that country's air defence network, including the supply of advanced S-300 air defense missile systems to Syria," it said.

The statement said both sides noted readiness for further joint efforts to achieve long-term normalisation of the situation in Syria and restoration of its sovereignty. It said the sides discussed promotion of the political process regarding the formation and launch of the work of the constitutional committee in Geneva, and agreed to continue contacts at various levels.

The Kremlin also said Assad expressed his deep condolences in connection with the death of 15 Russian servicemen who were on board the IL-20 aircraft, shot down on September 17 in Syria.