 |
 |
 |
|
|
Moscow is suspected of selling Syria this advanced Iskander surface-to-surface missile
|
|
|
|
|
|
| By israelinsider staff and partners April 15, 2007 |
|
| |
 Bookmark to del.icio.us |
| |
Russia has warned Israel to take care not to miscalculate either its or Syria's strength lest tensions between the border states explode.
The caution came during a regional visit by Russian National Security Council Secretary Igor Ivanov last week, according to the Israeli daily Haaretz Sunday.
Israeli National Security Council Head Ilan Mizrahi responded to the warning, saying that Russia's supplying of arms to Syria could provide it with a false sense of its own strength, and that the weapons transfer was itself destabilizing the Middle East.
Ivanov retorted that his country was providing defense systems only to Iran and Syria. He also assured the Israeli delegation that the Syrian president was genuinely interested in peace negotiations, saying that Israel "will find a partner in Assad."
Syria, however, distanced itself Saturday from statements of a coming peace with Israel, rejecting Syrian-American businessman Ibrahim Suleiman recent comments on peace had been his personal opinion.
Suleiman had said that "Syria right now is ready to speak peace. I challenged the Israeli government to answer President Bashar's call for peace and sit down together."
Ivanov also spoke to the delegation on the Iranian nuclear program, saying that the threat should be neither downplayed, nor exaggerated, claiming that Russia would not allow Iran to be armed with nuclear weapons.
"A nuclear Iran would threaten Russia, too," he said.
Ivanov suggested that there was still a chance for diplomatic discussions between the Islamic State and Israel, and relayed the message that Russia looks negatively on the possibility of a joint Israeli-American offensive against Iran.
Several of the Israeli representatives, consisting of members of the IDF Intelligence Corps, Mossad, and other defense, Foreign Ministry and Israel Atomic Energy Commission officials, disagreed with the Russian evaluation of the situation.
Moscow is suspected of selling Syria Pantsir-C1 anti-aircraft systems and the advanced Iskander surface-to-surface missile.
Last January Russia sold 29 state-of-the-art Tor M1 radar-guided anti-aircraft missile launchers to Iran.
The deal, valued at $700 million, impressively strengthened Iran's air defenses against a possible US or Israeli strike on the rogue state's nuclear facilities.
Russia thus effectively encouraged Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to continue his pursuit of nuclear weapons.
"Regarding Moscow's connection with Hamas, Ivanov said Russia's balanced stance on the Middle East enabled it to serve as an acceptable mediator for all parties. Ivanov added that Russia was interested in assisting the government of Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas," reported Haaretz.
The meeting between the Israeli and Russian delegations lasted two days, and a future session was agreed upon to take place in Moscow.
Jerusalem Newswire writer Stan Goodenough contributed to this report. |
|
 
|
|
|
|
Click on the blue headline to read a Talkback comment and respond to it. Click on the  icon to send a private email to the talkback writer. The icon appears only if the writer has decided to be contacted. If no popup window appears, please make sure your popup blocker allows israelinsider.com.
|
|
| |
|
|
