The Russian daily Nezavisimaya Gazeta warned the country can ill afford direct and indirect losses from Moscow's recent cancellation of its deal to sell Iran the S-300 anti-aircraft surface-to-air missile defense system. The deal would have been worth $800 million.
The newspaper reported that Russia would also lose an additional $400 million in penalties for breach of contract, and the refusal to deliver on its contract could push Tehran towards China as its main arms supplier, further depriving Moscow of a strong source of revenue.