- JERUSALEM (AFP) -- Russia
has informed Israel that a controversial sale of a weapons system to Syria
is to go ahead despite Israeli objections, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon
said.
-
- "I wrote to President (Vladimir) Putin but we got
an answer (saying) that they are going to sell that kind of weapon to the
Syrians," Sharon told reporters.
-
- "We worry about that and we don't think that that
should have happened."
-
- Israel and the United States have both expressed disquiet
about the sale of the Russian-made surface-to-air SA-18 missiles, fearing
they could end up in the hands of Hezbollah, the Damascus-backed Shiite
militia in Lebanon .
-
- "We are not pleased with the sales of weapons to
Syria , particularly sophisticated weapons that Russia intends to sell
to Syria , weapons that may end in the hands of terror organisations,"
Sharon said.
-
- "We are in contact with the Russians in order to
settle this issue and ensure that these weapons do not reach terror organisations
located in Lebanon .
-
- "Lebanon is a centre of terrorism and regional instability
and we have all seen what happened in Lebanon yesterday," he added
in reference to Monday's assassination of the former Lebanese prime minister
Rafiq Hariri.
-
- Putin said in an interview late last month that Russia
would never upset the Middle East's regional balance but any sale of the
anti-aircraft missiles could be allowed for "defensive purposes".
-
- "While we're talking about supplies of weapons to
countries in the region, such a supply should be understood in the light
of supporting defensive capacities, as in Syria , " he told the Jerusalem
Post.
-
- "First of all, we understand and are committed to
maintaining the balance of forces in the region. We understand our responsibilities.
We have not taken a single step to violate that balance," said the
Russian president.
-
- "Second of all, we won't bring to the region weapons
that can be used by terrorists or that can be transferred to terrorists
without controls."
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- Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who met with Putin
in Moscow last month, has said any missile system would be for defensive
purposes.
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