The Assad regime, increasingly wary of the possibility of a radical change in the US policy, has asked the Russian government to send advanced weapons to guard against the unpredictable nature of the US air-strikes.
Syrian foreign minister, Walid Muallen, has said that the country expects to receive Russian S-300 anti-aircraft missiles and other weapons that will help its defences, a local paper has reported.
Anxiety within the regime has mounted after the mid-term election results this week. Damascus is getting increasingly uncomfortable about the possibility that the rise of Republicans could mount pressure on President Barack Obama to launch military strikes against the country. Syria has therefore, sought Russia's help and asked for the delivery of a powerful air defense system, Muallen said in an interview with Lebanon's al-Akhbar newspaper earlier in the week.
Washington had pledged that air strikes against the Islamist State (ISIS) militants would not target the Syrian army, but as the political situation is delicate in the area, the regime seems to be unwilling to take any risks.
"Do we trust this commitment? For now, we realise that President Barack Obama, for domestic reasons, wants to avoid war with Syria," he told the newspaper.
"But we do not know how Obama will act under mounting pressure, and the pressure will only increase if the Republicans achieve a majority in the US mid-term elections, so we have to prepare ourselves."
The interview was conducted before Tuesday's US elections, which saw the Republicans – as feared by the Syrian regime – regain control of Congress.
"This is what we explained bluntly to the Russians, and we asked them to...take advantage of the situation and provide us with advanced weapons," he said. Asked if he was referring to S-300 anti-aircraft missiles, which the country has been seeking from Russia for a very long time, Muallem said: "Yes, and other advanced weapons."
"We will get them and other advanced weapons within a reasonable period," he said adding: "The main problem is on the road to a speedy solution, meaning the Kremlin's political approval. It is just around the corner."
