GOV/MIL Israel asks Russia not to sell Syria advanced S-300 air shield: Officials

Israel asks Russia not to sell Syria advanced S-300 air shield: Officials

Israel has asked Russia not to sell Syria an advanced air defence system which would help President Bashar al-Assad fend off foreign military intervention as he battles a more than two-year-old rebellion, Israeli officials said on Thursday.

Citing U.S. officials, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that Israel had told Washington that Syria had already began payments for a $900 million purchase of the S-300 and an initial delivery was due within three months.

The S-300 is designed to shoot down planes and missiles at 125-mile (200-km) ranges. It would enhance Syria's current Russian-supplied defences, which did not deter Israel from launching devastating air strikes around Damascus last weekend.

"We have raised objections to this (sale) with the Russians, and the Americans have too," an Israeli official told Reuters.

There was no immediate comment from Moscow or Damascus.

In 2010, Russia backed out of a tentative S-300 sale to Iran that had been in the works for years. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev cited U.N. sanctions imposed that year over Iran's defiance of international demands to curb its nuclear programme.

Israel and the United States, which threaten military attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities if diplomatic alternatives fail, had lobbied Moscow to drop the deal with Tehran.

Israel attacks

Israel bombed sites near the Syrian capital on Friday and Sunday which intelligence sources said held Iranian-supplied missiles destined for Hezbollah guerrillas in neighbouring Lebanon. The heavy presence of Israeli warplanes in Lebanese airspace suggested they may have eluded Syrian defences by launching long-range missiles across the border at the targets.

Assad accused his Israeli foe of attacking Syria in order to support the insurgency there - an allegation denied by Israel, though, like Western powers, it has urged his ouster.

Russia, however, has balked at such calls. It voiced "particular alarm" at Israel's air strikes, seeing a possible precursor for Western military intervention against Assad.

Robert Hewson, an IHS Jane's air power analyst, said that were Syria to receive the S-300 it would probably take several months to deploy and operate the system. But he suggested it would not pose a big challenge for Israel's hi-tech air force.

"It's a fairly well-established, fairly well-understood system, so there is a corpus of knowledge, particularly among Israel's friends, about how to deal with this system," he said.

Once activated, the S-300 could easily be spotted thanks to its distinctive radar signal, Hewson said, "and from there it's a fairly short step to taking it out. It's not a wonder-weapon."

Cyprus bought the S-300 and eventually positioned it on the Greek island of Crete. Israel, which has close ties with Nicosia and Athens, may have tested its jets against that S-300's capabilities during Mediterranean overflights, Hewson said.

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/is...ials-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=46541&NewsCatID=359

I'm not so sure I can agree with Tyler Durden's opinion piece here, but FWIW:

Alexblx: #Russia knows #Assad only uses missles on #Syria cities - but in 3 months will supply 144 new 125mile range missiles http://t.co/28OXUER0W6
Thursday, May 09, 2013 10:14:37 AM

Israel Informs US That Russia Plans To Sell Weapons To Syria

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 05/09/2013 09:50 -0400

We almost got an entire 24 hour period that did not have news about imminent war rumblings out of Syria. Almost. Late last night WSJ reported about the civil war torn country (in which the rebels may or may not be using chemical weapons, but are backed by both Al Qaeda and the US government) again, this time on a leak by Israel having warned the US that Russians are "imminently" going to sell advanced ground-to-air missile systems to Syria "that would significantly boost the regime's ability to stave off intervention in its civil war." Supposedly this means that Israel would be unable to continue its unimpeded military incursions of Syrian sovereign airspace and blow stuff up at whim just because it feels like it, and for whatever pretext the Israeli defense forces come up with.

Some details on what Syria is said to receive from Moscow via the WSJ:

Israel has warned the U.S. that a Russian deal is imminent to sell advanced ground-to-air missile systems to Syria, weapons that would significantly boost the regime's ability to stave off intervention in its civil war.

The package includes six launchers and 144 operational missiles, each with a range of 125 miles, according to the information the Israelis provided. The first shipment could come over the next three months, according to the Israelis' information, and be concluded by the end of the year. Russia is also expected to send two instruction teams to train Syria's military in operating the missile system, the Israelis say.

Naturally, there were no official statements on the matter, meaning interpretation of events is up to "objective", "unconflicted" media spin, the same way the US government is convinced it was the Assad regime using chemical weapons despite the UN's report claiming just the opposite.

U.S. officials said on Wednesday that they are analyzing the information Israel provided, but wouldn't comment on whether they believed the sale of S-300 missile batteries was near.

Russian officials didn't immediately return requests to comment. The Russian Embassy in Washington has said its policy is not to comment on arms sales or transfers between Russia and other countries.

The government of President Bashar al-Assad has been seeking to purchase S-300 missile batteries—which can intercept both manned aircraft and guided missiles—from Moscow going back to the George W. Bush administration, U.S. officials said. Western nations have lobbied President Vladimir Putin's government not to go ahead with the sale. If Syria were to acquire and deploy the systems, it would make any international intervention in Syria far more complicated, according to U.S. and Middle East-based officials.

According to the information the Israelis provided in recent days, Syria has been making payments on a 2010 agreement with Moscow to buy four batteries for $900 million. They cite financial transactions from the Syrian government, including one made this year through Russia's foreign-development bank, known as the VEB.

Since Russia has a naval base in Syria, it probably should not come as a huge surprise that Putin is on friendly terms with the current regime. After all it is not just Israel and the US that have strategic visions regarding a country that many see as the gateway to the Israel-Iran conflict.

In 2009, the Russians started upgrading Syria's outdated analog SA-3 surface-to-air missile systems, turning them into the SA-26 Pechora-2M system, which is mobile and digital, equipped with missiles with an operational range of 17 miles, according to the assessment.

The U.S. is particularly worried about another modernized system Moscow provides—the SA-5. With an operational range of 175 miles, SA-5 missiles could take out U.S. planes flying from Cyprus, a key North Atlantic Treaty Organization base that was used during Libya operations and would likely be vital in any Syrian operation.

US planes flying out of Cyprus carrying Cypriot gold perhaps?

As for the whole farce surrounding Syria, ok, ok - we get it. By now even the cheap seat have grasped that Israel wants to not only start a war with Syria, but to preferably have the US fight it, but not before alienating public opinion against Russia and soon China.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-05-09/israel-informs-us-russia-plans-sell-weapons-syria

The package includes six launchers and 144 operational missiles, each with a range of 125 miles, according to the information the Israelis provided. The first shipment could come over the next three months, according to the Israelis' information, and be concluded by the end of the year. Russia is also expected to send two instruction teams to train Syria's military in operating the missile system, the Israelis say.

This is great news and good for the peace and stability of the middle east.
Hopefully Syria will get these earlier in shipments and deploy them ASAP--just in time to shoot Israeli planes from the sky next time they violate Syrian sovereignty.
They will also hopefully keep evil USA and NATO forces at a distance and deter our insane, demonically inspired leaders from intervention.

As for the whole farce surrounding Syria, ok, ok - we get it. By now even the cheap seat have grasped that Israel wants to not only start a war with Syria, but to preferably have the US fight it, but not before alienating public opinion against Russia and soon China

Hurray--Tyler Durden gets it completely as well!!!

I am not alone in this universe!

Please Mr. Sporting Goods Store(Russia), do not sell my neighbor(Syria) a shotgun. I(Israel) plan to break into his home in the near future to kill him and steal his wealth. I(Israel) do not want him(Syria) to be able to effectively defend himself from my attack.

Or:
Please Mr. Sporting Goods Store(Russia), do not sell my crazy neighbor(Syria) a shotgun. He and his friends have told me and my family (Israel) that they plan to break into my home in the near future to kill me, my wife, my kids and my dog. I(Israel) do not want him(Syria) to be able to effectively do this.

OR, slightly closer to the analogy:

Please Mr Sporting Goods Store don't sell my neighbor that shotgun on a BOGO offer because he's handed EVERY shotgun that you have sold him to the guys on the street and THEY are going to break into my house soon.

What's a "BOGO?!"

Shinmen Takezo said:

What's a "BOGO?!"

Click to expand...

You don't shop at Payless, do you? Buy One Get One.

---------

This should make you deliriously happy, Shinmen:


Hezbollah chief: Syria will supply 'game-changing' weapons to the Lebanese militant group - @AP

43 mins ago by editor

Ahhhhh--so, desu ka!

Domo! Domo!!

Ohh dont worry John the french pouffe Kerry has announced that russia will not sell those missles to syria......................wait for it............................(fill in the &%$#& bullsh** or other colorfull metaphore of choice expressing thatyou have no faith in johnny the pouffe)

night driver said:

OR, slightly closer to the analogy:

Please Mr Sporting Goods Store don't sell my neighbor that shotgun on a BOGO offer because he's handed EVERY shotgun that you have sold him to the guys on the street and THEY are going to break into my house soon.

Click to expand...

night driver has it exactly right.

Assad isn't stupid and doesn't plan to attack Israel. He'll live longer fighting his own people instead, although he will eventually lose there. He may try to drag Israel into the war in the hopes of uniting shia and sunni moslems and turn all their anger towards Israel. It won't work though, because the rebels already smell eventual victory. Even now they are jockeying for position to see which radical islamist party will soon control Syria with it's huge stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons.
All those new weapons he is trying to buy will eventually fall into moslem brotherhood or other radical hands. Too bad.

Those of you who think Israel actually wants Assad to be overthrown know absolutely nothing of middle east politics.
Israel wanted Assad to remain right where he was, as well as Mubarak in Egypt. Both borders were much more peaceful and predictable than they are now.

People who think Israel is driving the US support for the "Arab Spring" revolutions are letting their anti Semitic hate and bigotry replace logic and reason. Not unusual for a few of our members.
Even a complete moron would see that a radicalized Syria and a radicalized Egypt and a soon to materialize attempt to radicalize Jordan, will make life much more difficult for Israel.

Meadowlark said:

Ohh dont worry John the french pouffe Kerry has announced that russia will not sell those missles to syria......................wait for it............................(fill in the &%$#& bullsh** or other colorfull metaphore of choice expressing thatyou have no faith in johnny the pouffe)

Click to expand...

John Kerry: Transfer of Russian missile defense system to Syria would be 'destabilizing' for Israel - @AP

7 hours ago by editor

AM YISRAEL CHAI!

I really wish that I was sitting with that "Bastard son of Lee Marvin" right now.
I really like him and would love toss back a few of his preferred drinks with him but, I then would have to really give him a real(No-shitter) talkin(need another witness of course..(lol) to.

My house is full of history books and tomes.....

brudog said:

I really wish that I was sitting with that "Bastard son of Lee Marvin" right now.
I really like him and would love toss back a few of his preferred drinks with him but, I then would have to really give him a real(No-shitter) talkin(need another witness of course..(lol) to.
My house is full of history books and tomes.....

Click to expand...

I volunteer

I like "The Bastard Son" too and agree with a lot of his posts, except his anti Semitism.
I believe we should not get involved in Syria and damn sure should never have been involved in Egypt and Libya.

All those chem weapons were sitting safe with Assad, but will soon be in the hands of shall we say "less than stable" radical islamists.
One would have to be an idiot to believe that some of those hundreds of tons of chem agents will not make their way over to the US eventually.
It's funny, but the ones who are most pushing for Assad to be ousted (US, EU,Saudi) are the ones most likely to eventually have to deal with he effects of those chem weapons on their own soil.

Might as well say "Would you NOT fart in my general direction"

Russia Not to Tolerate Further Israeli Attacks on Damascus

TEHRAN (FNA)- Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, while in Shanghai, was given a sharp dressing-down by Russian President Vladimir Putin, a warning that Russia would not tolerate further Israeli attacks on Damascus and would respond.


Putin did not say how, but he did announce he had ordered the acceleration of highly advanced Russian weapons supplies to Syria.

Israeli Debkafile's military sources disclosed that the Russian leader was referring to S-300 anti-air systems and the nuclear-capable 9K720 Iskander (NATO named SS-26 Stone) surface missiles, which are precise enough to hit a target within a 5-7 meter radius at a distance of 280 kilometers.

In his phone call to Netanyahu, the Russian leader advised the prime minister to make sure to keep this in mind.

Since Syrian air defense teams have already trained in Russia on the handling of the S-300 interceptor batteries, they can go into service as soon as they are landed by one of Russia's daily airlifts to Syria. Russian air defense officials will supervise their deployment and prepare them for operation.

Moscow is retaliating not just for Israel's air operations against Syria but in anticipation of the Obama administration's impending decision to send the first US arms shipments to the Syrian rebels.

Intelligence agencies in Moscow and the Middle-East take it for granted that by the time Washington goes public on this decision, some of the Syrian rebel factions will already be armed with American weapons.

That the measure was in the works was signified by the introduction Monday by chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee Bob Menendez of legislation allowing the US to provide arms and military training to the Syrian rebels.

US military instructors have been working with Syrian rebels at training camps in Jordan and Turkey for some months. So putting the arms in their hands only awaited a decision in Washington, the Israeli website alleged.

Putin's message to Netanyahu was intended to reach a wider audience than Jerusalem, such as Barack Obama in Washington and President Xi Jinping in Beijing ahead of Netanyahu's talks there Tuesday.

http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=9107168122

Netanyahu to Persuade Putin to Halt Syria Arms Shipment

By Vasudevan Sridharan: Subscribe to Vasudevan's RSS feed | May 12, 2013 3:12 PM GMT

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will fly to Russia later this week to meet President Vladimir Putin in a bid to persuade him to stop arms shipment to the Syrian regime.

Moscow continues its arms supply to Damascus fulfilling its earlier contracts with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad despite ongoing civil war.

According to an earlier report by the Wall Street Journal, Russia is intending to ship S-300 missile batteries to Assad. If the advanced ground-to-air missiles reach Assad's hands, it will prove vital in the balance of power between the regime and the rebels.

The missiles are capable of bringing down fighter jets and intercept cruise missiles.

When asked by the reporters about the deal, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said, "Russia is not planning to sell. Russia has been selling for a long time, has signed contracts and is completing deliveries of technology that consists of anti-aircraft systems."


Netanyahu is believed to be worried that the sophisticated missiles would reach the Lebanon-based Shiite militant group Hezbollah. Earlier, both Assad's regime and Hezbollah have hinted that Damascus is ready to arm Hezbollah with latest weapons.

"Netanyahu plans to visit Russia. The main theme [of discussions] will be the export of weapons to Syria," a source who is familiar with the matter told Moscow's RIA Novosti.

The Israeli leader is likely to meet Putin in his residence in Sochi on the Black Sea Coast however the exact date has not been confirmed yet. The two leaders have also held a telephone conversation over the matter, suggest reports.

Washington has refused to directly address the issue as the White House spokesperson Jay Carney said, "We are aware of the reports. But I have no further information for you on it. We have consistently called on Russia to cut off the Assad regime's supply of Russian weapons, including air defence systems that are destabilizing to the region."

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/articles/4...tanyahu-putin-russia-syria-missiles-assad.htm

Game-changing Russian missiles 'already in Syria'

Obama aware, disappointed in support of regime
Published: 2 hours ago

Aaron Klein

TEL AVIV – A Russian convoy of game-changing S300 missile batteries reached Syria last week, claimed Arab intelligence sources speaking to WND.

Israeli security sources said there is no information to support the Arab claim.

The information comes as the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times reported Israel relayed a message to the Obama administration describing as imminent a Russian deal to sell the advanced anti-aircraft missile systems to Syria.

The S300 missile batteries are able to intercept manned aircraft and guided missiles.

White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Texas the administration is aware of the reports and is disappointed in Russia’s continued support of the Syrian regime.

“We have consistently called on Russia to cut off the Assad regime’s supply of Russian weapons including air defense systems that are destabilizing to the region,” Carney said. “We have also long said that Russia could play a more constructive role in Syria.”

According to the Journal report, Syria has been making payments on a 2010 agreement with Russia to purchase four batteries for $900 million with delivery expected within three months.

The Journal reported the S300 package included six launchers and 144 operational missiles each with a range of up to 200 miles.

http://www.wnd.com/2013/05/game-changing-russian-missiles-already-in-syria/

TerryK said:

night driver has it exactly right.

Assad isn't stupid and doesn't plan to attack Israel. He'll live longer fighting his own people instead, although he will eventually lose there. He may try to drag Israel into the war in the hopes of uniting shia and sunni moslems and turn all their anger towards Israel. It won't work though, because the rebels already smell eventual victory. Even now they are jockeying for position to see which radical islamist party will soon control Syria with it's huge stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons.
All those new weapons he is trying to buy will eventually fall into moslem brotherhood or other radical hands. Too bad.

Those of you who think Israel actually wants Assad to be overthrown know absolutely nothing of middle east politics.
Israel wanted Assad to remain right where he was, as well as Mubarak in Egypt. Both borders were much more peaceful and predictable than they are now.

People who think Israel is driving the US support for the "Arab Spring" revolutions are letting their anti Semitic hate and bigotry replace logic and reason. Not unusual for a few of our members.
Even a complete moron would see that a radicalized Syria and a radicalized Egypt and a soon to materialize attempt to radicalize Jordan, will make life much more difficult for Israel.

Click to expand...

A point to consider as well, "radicalized" Sunni regimes have tended to be more dangerous than Shia ones. The Statist/Stalinist ones have been bad enough.

I like "The Bastard Son" too and agree with a lot of his posts, except his anti Semitism.

It is not "anti-semetic" to want Israel to stop trying to inflame a greater middle east war, in which we will absolutely get dragged into (which we will fight for them--again).
It is not "anti-semetic" to want Israel to stop stealing our military secrets or stop straffing our ships at sea.
It is not "anti-semetic" to want to get rid off all the paid foreign influences (agents of influence... Farag, McCain, etc., shaping our foreign policy.

FYI--when you use this "anti-semetic" label that you've tossed out--this is a commie-tard/progressive/liberal devised trick to paint everyone you disagree with.
It's as old as the books.
For people who feign to be conservative, this is not conservative behavior.

Shinmen Takezo said:

I like "The Bastard Son" too and agree with a lot of his posts, except his anti Semitism.

It is not "anti-semetic" to want Israel to stop trying to inflame a greater middle east war, in which we will absolutely get dragged into (which we will fight for them--again).
It is not "anti-semetic" to want Israel to stop stealing our military secrets or stop straffing our ships at sea.
It is not "anti-semetic" to want to get rid off all the paid foreign influences (agents of influence... Farag, McCain, etc., shaping our foreign policy.

FYI--when you use this "anti-semetic" label that you've tossed out--this is a commie-tard/progressive/liberal devised trick to paint everyone you disagree with.
It's as old as the books.
For people who feign to be conservative, this is not conservative behavior.

Click to expand...

I have held in my arms 2 of these what I call "white Jews." Same skin color as mine. (I am UK & Scandi). One I still want her, if her family sends her to me again from Israel. Rev 3:9.
They are slick, like none other than mu slims are. Going after your $. Then they expect you to love them.

Am Yisrael Chai!

Putin senses weakness and stupidity in the kenyan- and is ramping up the stakes considerably. He is parking 6 Nuclear Subs in the Mediterranean.


Russia’s Mediterranean Task Force to Include Nuclear Subs – Navy Chief

MOSCOW, May 12 (RIA Novosti) – Russia’s Mediterranean task force will comprise 5-6 warships and may be enlarged to include nuclear submarines, Navy Commander Adm. Viktor Chirkov said on Sunday.

“Overall, already from this year, we plan to have 5-6 warships and support vessels [in the Mediterranean Sea], which will be replaced on a rotating basis from each of the fleets – the Black Sea, Baltic, Northern and, in some cases, even the Pacific Fleet. Depending on the scope of assignments and their complexity, the number of warships in the task force may be increased,” Chirkov told RIA Novosti.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu earlier said a decision to deploy a permanent task force in the Mediterranean to defend Russia’s interests in the area had been made.

The Russian navy commander also said nuclear submarines could be deployed in the Mediterranean, if necessary.

“Possibly. In a perspective. They [submarines] were present there during the existence of the 5th squadron. There were both nuclear and diesel submarines there. Everything will depend on the situation,” he said.

The Soviet Union maintained its 5th Mediterranean Squadron in that sea from 1967 until 1992. It was formed to counter the US Navy 6th Fleet during the Cold War, and consisted of 30-50 warships and auxiliary vessels at different times.

Russia also plans to use its Mediterranean task force for missions in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, the country’s Navy chief said.

“No doubt, if necessary, when some tasks arise in other nearby regions, in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, the task force may be used,” Chirkov said.

Now the Russian Navy is training officers who will perform their duties at sea on a permanent basis, he said.

“These persons must be comprehensively trained to solve tasks not only in the Mediterranean but also in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans,” he said.

The headquarters of Russia’s Mediterranean taskforce will be set up already in the summer of 2013, he said.

“The headquarters will be established in the summer of this year and its officers will stay aboard one of the flagships in the Mediterranean Sea,” he said.

http://en.ria.ru/military_news/2013...Task-Force-to-Include-Nuclear-Subs--Navy.html

Looks like the S-300 anti-air systems have begun to arrive in Syria and now they are entering into the next phase...


May 31, 7:36 AM EDT

Russia to sell at least 10 MiG fighters to Syria

By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV
Associated Press

MOSCOW (AP) -- Russia's MiG aircraft maker said Friday it plans to sign a new agreement to ship at least 10 fighter jets to Syria, a move that comes amid international criticism of earlier Russian weapons deals with Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime.

MiG's director general, Sergei Korotkov, said a Syrian delegation was in Moscow to discuss the details of a new contract for the delivery of MiG-29 M/M2 fighters. In remarks carried by Russian news agencies, he said Syria wants to buy "more than 10" such fighters, but wouldn't give the exact number.

The significance of his comments was unclear. A MiG spokesman wouldn't comment on Korotkov's statement, and the MiG chief could be referring to a deal the company previously negotiated with Syria that apparently has been put on hold amid Syria's brutal two-year civil war.

More than 70,000 people have died in the fighting and millions of Syrians have fled the country.

Moscow has shipped billions of dollars' worth of missiles, combat jets, tanks, artillery and other military gear to Syria over more than four decades. Syria now is Russia's last remaining ally in the Middle East and hosts the only naval base Moscow has outside the former Soviet Union.

Russia has shielded Assad from U.N. sanctions and has continued to provide his regime with weapons despite the uprising against him that began in March 2011.

Russian media reports say Syria placed an order a few years ago for 12 MiG-29 M2 fighters with an option of buying another 12. The Stockholm Peace Research Institute also has reported that Russia planned to provide Syria with 24 of the aircraft.

The MiG-29 M2 is an advanced version of the MiG-29 twin-engine fighter jet, which has been a mainstay of the Soviet and Russian air force since mid-1980s. Syria had about 20 fighters of the original make among scores of other Soviet- and Russian-built aircraft.

Russia has said it's only providing Assad with weapons intended to protect Syria from a foreign invasion, such as air defense missile systems, and is not delivering weapons that could be used in the civil war.

But the delivery of MiGs would contradict that claim and expose Russia to global criticism, so the Kremlin might think twice before giving the go-ahead.

Another recent Russian jet deal with Damascus, a contract to deliver Yak-130 combat training jets that could also be used for ground attacks, apparently has been put on hold amid the civil war.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/storie...ME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-05-31-07-36-18