by Shlomo Cesana and Reuters
Russia reportedly preparing to sell advanced anti-aircraft missiles to Syria • Netanyahu to argue that use of such weapons could spark regional war, and that due to instability, arms could fall into terrorist hands and force Israel to respond forcefully.
Russian S-300 missiles
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Photo credit: AP  |
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected
to make an emergency trip to Russia in the near future to try to
convince Russian President Vladimir Putin not to sell advanced
anti-aircraft S-300 missile batteries to Syria.
The trip was finalized in a phone conversation
between Netanyahu and U.S. President Barack Obama last week, while the
former was on an official visit to China. On Friday, Netanyahu returned
from his five-day China trip. Though the main purpose of the trip was to
bolster economic ties, Netanyahu did ask the Chinese to support
initiatives to curb Iran's nuclear program.
The Prime Minister's Office confirmed that
Netanyahu was preparing to visit Russia. Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for
the Russian president, told the Russian news agency Interfax that
Netanyahu was expected to arrive next week for a meeting with Putin.
The aforementioned arms deal between Russia and Syria, first reported
in the Wall Street Journal last week, which Israel is determined to
prevent, includes six launchers and 144 missiles with a range of up to
200 kilometers (124 miles). The deal is expected to go through within
three months.
The Russian missile system is capable of
intercepting aircraft and ballistic missiles from great distances, so
that Israeli warplanes would be in danger even over Israeli airspace.
In the past, Israel managed to delay several
Russian arms deals with Iran and Syria, but never to scrap a deal
altogether. Netanyahu will try to convince Putin that the presence of
such weapons could potentially spark a regional conflict, should the
Syrians decide to use them. He will also describe an even worse
possibility: due to the instability in the region, the weapons could
fall into the hands of Hezbollah or other terror organizations, causing a
major shift in the balance of power. Such a shift would force Israel to
respond with full force.
According to foreign sources, Israel bombed
several targets within Syria over the last few years, including several
stores of Iranian weapons, bound for Hezbollah, less than two weeks ago.
In the meantime, the fighting in Syria may be
spilling over into Turkey. At least 45 people were killed in a twin car
bombing on the Turkish border on Saturday. Turkey said on Sunday it
believed fighters loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad were behind
the attack.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said
those involved in the bombings in Reyhanli on Saturday were thought also
to have carried out an attack on the Syrian coastal town of Banias a
week ago, in which fighters backing Assad were reported to have killed
at least 62 people.
"The attack has nothing to do with the Syrian
refugees in Turkey, it's got everything to do with the Syrian regime,"
Davutoglu said in an interview on Turkey's state-funded TRT television.
"We should be careful against ethnic provocations in Turkey and Lebanon
after the Banias massacre," he said.
Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoabi denied any Syrian involvement and rejected what he called "unfounded accusations."
Shlomo Cesana and Reuters
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=9255
Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.
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