RAMALLAH, West Bank, 3 March 2007 — Israeli officials harshly criticized Russia yesterday for its decision to supply Syria with advanced missiles, including anti-aircraft missiles and new anti-tank missiles that can penetrate Western-made tanks. Senior Israeli officials expressed concern that the arms would be transferred to Hezbollah, warning that missiles that were supplied to Syria in the past got into the hands of the group and were used against Israeli occupation forces’ tanks during the summer’s war in Lebanon.
Israeli officials have recently learned that Damascus is close to concluding a deal with Russia to procure thousands of advanced anti-tank missiles for the Syrian Army. Such a development suggests that Israel ‘s diplomatic efforts to block the sale have failed.
Israeli Deputy Premier Shimon Peres said that the supply of arms to Syria “encouraged Damascus to turn to war,” Israel Radio quoted him as saying. “Syria is moving between peace overtures and its temptations to go to war to which arms supply is an incentive,” added Peres. Peres went on to say that the UN had admitted that the weapons flow from Syria to Hezbollah was continuing, adding that Israel needed to exert pressure on Moscow to stop supplying Damascus with arms.
Israeli Parliament member Silvan Shalom of Likud party said that Russian President Vladimir Putin had “seemingly decided to restore Russia’s Soviet-empire status,” adding that the Russian president was “playing with fire.” Shalom told Israel Radio that Damascus had already paid all its dues to Russia in the form of money Moscow had received from Iran.
The weapons in question, Russia’s most advanced anti-tank rockets, are capable of ripping through the most modern armor and penetrating even bunkers, the country’s top-selling Yediot Aharonot newspaper warned. Referred to by NATO members as AT-15, they have an effective range of six kilometers longer than the firing range of the most advanced tanks, and would pose a serious problem to Israeli tanks in any potential conflict.
Israeli Army reserve general and former military intelligence chief Aharon Zeevi said the Russian arms sale was worth a billion dollars, which he said amounts to “at least one-fifth of Syria’s foreign exchange reserves.” “In Syria’s estimation it is preparing for a war this summer initiated by Israel, not Syria, and so it is focusing on reinforcing its arsenal,” the general told public radio.
