Algeria Procures S-300 From Russia
Algeria plans to become Russia's first Arab client of the S-300 air and missile defense system.

Russian industry sources said Algeria has ordered eight battalions of the S-300PMU2 system in a $1 billion deal. The sources said the batteries would ensure coverage of major Algerian cities and strategic sites.

For more than a decade, Russia has sought to sell the S-300 to such countries as Iran, Jordan Syria and the United Arab Emirates. Moscow was said to have offered an S-300 system to Damascus as part of a deal for Russian Navy access to the Syrian ports of Latakia and Tartus.

In 1998, the Republic of Cyprus ordered the S-300 from Russia. Under Turkish pressure, Nicosia agreed to transfer the system to Greece, which has deployed the S-300 in Crete.