The go-ahead for the $300 million Yakhont cruise missile deal was announced last week by Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov, who told state-run news agency RIA that it dated back to a 2007 contract and had met objections from the United States, Israel's ally.

"This (sale) complicates the situation. It does not contribute to stability and it does not create peace in the region. We will convey to Russia our position," the Israel Hayom daily quoted Lieberman as saying.

Despite its fitful peace efforts with Syria, Israel remains mistrustful. Damascus backs Hezbollah guerrillas in neighboring Lebanon and has made occasional veiled threats that war could be an option for regaining the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

RIA on Friday quoted Serdyukov as saying the United States feared the Yakhonts could end up in the hands of "terrorists" — an apparent reference to Hezbollah, which surprised Israel by hitting one of its warships with a cruise missile in a 2006 war. Serdyukov called such concerns "fruitless," RIA said. Lieberman said that Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak, who visited Moscow this month to sign a military cooperation pact, had "dealt with the (Yakhont) issue, but things didn't work out."

Barak, on a trip to Washington, met with White House officials and shared his concern that the weapons could "be passed to Hezbollah as has happened in the past, and be turned against Israel," his office said in a statement. Russia, which is building up a fleet of Israeli-made drones, earlier pleased Israel by promising not to deliver S-300 anti-aircraft missiles to Iran while new UN sanctions over its nuclear program are in place.