The head of the Russian Federation Council’s Defense and Security Committee says Russian armed forces based in Syria will not attempt to intercept any American missiles, if Washington orders another airstrike.

On Monday, Russian Senator Viktor Ozerov told the news agency Interfax, “Our armed forces are in Syria to fight terrorism — not to defend against external threats. That’s not our mandate, and we’re not going to intercept anything,” he said, adding that the Syrian military still has every legal right to try to shoot down the missiles.