Israelis attempting to stop russia from exporting arms to syria

[sean m]

http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition...syria-1.310443

Israel working to thwart Russia arms deal with Syria
Netanyahu asks Putin to stop deal involving sale of advanced P-800 Yakhont supersonic cruise missiles; Israel considers this weaponry dangerous to its navy vessels in Mediterranean Sea.
By Barak Ravid
Tags: Israel news Russia
Israel is trying to prevent an arms deal between Russia and Syria, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has asked his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, to stop the arms sale involving advanced anti-shipping missiles.

The deal involves the sale of advanced P-800 Yakhont supersonic cruise missiles to the Syrian military. Israel considers this weaponry capable of posing significant danger to its navy vessels in the Mediterranean Sea.

  The P-800 Yakhont supersonic cruise missile.


In a conversation with Putin, Netanyahu told the Russian leader that missiles his country had delivered to Syria were then transferred to Hezbollah and used against IDF troops during the Second Lebanon War.

Meanwhile, Ehud Barak is scheduled to travel to Moscow for what will be the first-ever visit by an Israeli Defense Minister to the Russian capital, where he plans to discuss the matter with his host, Anatoly Serdyukov.

A senior Israeli official who asked to remain anonymous due to the sensitive nature of the issue, said Israel and Russia have been engaged in discreet dialogue over arms deals to the region.

But as these talks have not yielded any results, the decision was made to upgrade the level of discussions with a senior political figure.

"We have been working on such a visit for more than a year and it is very important to us," the official said.

As the Russian Defense Ministry is considered to be overwhelmingly pro-Arab, the opportunity for an Israeli Defense Minister to make an official visit is considered a historic development.

Netanyahu called Putin on Friday, after a long period of time in which the two had not communicated. The prime minister updated his Russian counterpart on the direct talks with the Palestinians that are expected to begin next week, and some of the conversation centered on the arms deal with Syria.

In addition to Syria's transfer of advanced Russian anti-tank missiles to Hezbollah, Netanyahu also mentioned the incident in which Syrian-acquired Chinese-made C-802 anti-shipping missiles were used by Hezbollah to target an Israeli destroyer. He expressed Israel's concern that the new missiles from Russia will also make their way to Hezbollah.

The latest arms deal was first reported in the foreign press in late 2009, and is said to include P-800 missiles which now come in models that can be launched from land.

The highly accurate missiles have a maximum range of 300 kilometers and carry a 200-kilogram warhead. The weapon's unique feature is its ability to cruise several meters above the surface, making it difficult to identify on radar and therefore intercept.

The C-802 missiles currently in the Syrian arsenal have a range of 120 kilometers, carry a smaller warhead and lack the accuracy of the more advanced missiles.

Israel's defense analysts are concerned that these missiles in the hands of Hezbollah would pose a serious threat to Israel Navy ships operating out of the Haifa port, and possibly also out of Ashdod.

This is interesting, This would definetly help out the forces in afghanisttan and else where where there is fighting against islamist radicals. What is your opoinion?

 

[Spanky]

[quote This would definetly help out the forces in afghanisttan and else where where there is fighting against islamist radicals. What is your opoinion?
[/quote]
Certainly very interesting as these missiles could pose a real threat to Israeli ships.  I don't see the connection to Afghanistan however.  Unless I'm missing something.

 

[sean m]

Thank you for the post

Well it seems that many experts (ex. Bob Baer) believe that Syria is exporting terrorism around the world. There have been articles stating that the Iranian and Syrian have been aiding islamic radicals in the areas of contention (Afghanistan, Iraq etc.) This makes sense since a democratic government would not be a good thing for the Bashir regime or government in Tehran. If Russia stops arms shipments then the Syrians power to export terrorism is severly hindered. Would you agree?

[quote This would definetly help out the forces in afghanisttan and else where where there is fighting against islamist radicals. What is your opoinion?

Certainly very interesting as these missiles could pose a real threat to Israeli ships.  I don't see the connection to Afghanistan however.  Unless I'm missing something.

 

[sean m]

Two new updates: first,

Russia has refused Israels demand for stopping arms shipments to Syria

http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/despite-israeli-protests-russia-won-t-halt-arms-sale-to-syria-1.310943

Despite Israel's objections, Russia will not cancel its sale of advanced missiles to Syria, the Kremlin announced on Sunday.

Haaretz reported on Friday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had asked his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, to cancel the sale of long-range surface-to-sea cruise missiles to the Syrian Army.

Following the Haaretz report, Sergei Prikhodko, a senior adviser to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, told the state-run Russian news agency RIA Novosti that Moscow would fulfill all agreements it had made with foreign countries and would not halt the deal.

"Lately, some Israeli media outlets have been actively disseminating information distorting Russia's position on the implementation of its obligations to Syria, including in the sphere of military and technical cooperation," Prikhodko said. "I would like to stress that the Russian Federation honors all the agreements that were previously signed between Russia and Syria."

The agreement in question is for P-800 Yakhont missiles, a highly accurate Russian weapon with a 300-kilometer range capable of carrying a warhead of up to 200 kilograms.


Israel is concerned the projectiles could significantly improve the Syrian military's ability to target its naval ships. The Chinese-made C-802 missile Syria currently has is less accurate, has a range of just 102 kilometers and can carry a warhead of no more than 150 kilograms.

Jerusalem also fears the more advanced missiles could fall into the hands of Hezbollah, the Syrian- and Iranian-supported Lebanese militia, which would create a significant threat to naval ships in Israeli ports and the Mediterranean Sea.

Second,  There are reports from the middle east that Israel is planning to strike Hezbolah in Syria

 

[sean m]

Here is that article

http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/israel-planning-strike-on-hezbollah-sites-in-syria-1.310754

Published 00:56 29.08.10
Latest update 00:56 29.08.10
Israel 'planning strike on Hezbollah sites in Syria'
Kuwaiti daily quotes unnamed Western sources as saying that Israel has bolstered its troop presence in the Golan an stepped up UAV overflights.
By Jack Khoury
Israel is planning to strike Hezbollah weapons storage and production facilities in Syria, a Kuwaiti newspaper reported Saturday.

The report in the daily Alrai quoted unnamed Western sources as saying that Israel has bolstered its troop presence in the Golan Heights and the Galilee panhandle. It also quoted European sources who said Israel had sent unmanned aerial vehicles over Syria and Lebanon, which they called a sign that Israel is planning a military operation in one or both of its northern neighbors.

  IDF aerial photo marking alleged Hezbollah strongholds in southern Lebanon, released on July 7, 2010

Photo by: IDF 
The paper said Israel is particularly focused on facilities where Hezbollah stores long-range rockets, some of which are deep in Syrian territory.

It also cited unnamed sources who predicted that unlike Syria's muted response to the 2007 strike on a reputed nuclear reactor on its soil - which foreign media said was by Israel - this time the country would respond far more forcefully and quickly.

The Syrian Army, the paper reported, is at a heightened state of readiness, having deployed anti-aircraft missiles along the Israeli border and in other key strategic areas in the country.

Alrai was the first newspaper to report Syria had transferred Scud missiles to Hezbollah five months ago.

The Lebanese newspaper Al-Liwaa reported Friday that the assistant to U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell had met with the chief of staff of the Lebanese Army earlier this month and warned him of the implications of failing to achieve stability on the Israel-Lebanon border.

The paper said the U.S. official, Frederick Hoff, spoke to the army chief in general terms about what he called an Israeli plan to destroy the Lebanese Army's infrastructure - including command centers and military bases - in just four hours should further clashes break out. Hoff urged the army chief, Jean Kahwaji, to show restraint in the event of a renewed confrontation.

The Lebanese Army announced Friday that an Israeli military balloon had been spotted above the eastern Lebanese city of Baalbek and in the adjacent mountainous region.

The United Nations special envoy to Lebanon, Michael Williams, said this weekend that one of the issues on the agenda for the organization's Security Council meeting tomorrow would be the Israeli-Lebanese border clash earlier this month. Williams said the UN views the border incident "seriously," and would do everything possible to avoid similar incidents in the future.

The renewal of the UNIFIL peacekeeping force's mandate reportedly also will be discussed at the Security Council meeting. On Wednesday, Lebanon's Daily Star newspaper reported that the council had expressed unanimous support for extending the force's mission.

The off-the-record endorsement reportedly occurred during Tuesday's closed council session, held in advance of the official vote on the extension of Resolution 1701 scheduled for tomorrow.

The force's current mandate expires on Tuesday.