Israel condemns Russia's decision to supply Syria with missiles and demands clarification

The Israeli government has denounced Russia for its plan to sell P800 missiles to Syria. Such an arms deal, claim the Israelis, will disturb the arms balance in the region. “Moscow has gone too far,” said one official, “and this is not in line with our cooperation policy.” The same official added, “The supply of advanced weapons to Syria … especially at this time is not a move encouraging the moderate forces of the Middle East, rather it is a prize for extremist states.”

According to Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, the official claims that Tel Aviv expects Moscow to commit to what Israeli defence minister Ehud Barak was promised by Russia’s Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov. The unnamed official claimed that the Russian ministers had promised to cancel the deal.

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Israel will request clarification from the Russian government on this issue; the Israelis are concerned that Syria could supply Lebanon’s Hezbollah with the missiles it gets from Russia. Such missiles could be used against Israeli naval vessels on patrol in the Mediterranean Sea and off the Lebanese coast.

The announcement of the proposed deal was made by Mr. Serdyukov, who said that his country was going ahead with a deal to supply Syria with advanced missiles. Moscow, he added, saw no threat and no justification for the concerns expressed by the US and Israel that such weapons could fall into the hands of terrorists.