MIDEAST: RUSSIAN WEAPONS TO SYRIA, CONCERN IN ISRAEL

(by Aldo Baquis)
(ANSAmed) - TEL AVIV, AUGUST 22 - A climate of concern is
perceivable in Israel, after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad
discussed in Russia the purchase of advanced war systems in the
context of a revision of the bilateral relations, in view of the
recent conflict in Caucasus.
Today the official news agency Sana specified that there is
still no assent by Syria to the deployment of Russian missiles
Iskander on its territory. However, the Israelis in charge of
defence are still following with full attention the evolution of
the Russian-Syrian contacts.
''We will not allow the access into the region of weapons
which will alter the current balance'', Transport Minister (and
former Defence Minister) Shaul Mofaz, a leader of Kadima,
warned. Yesterday, Russian President Dmitri Medvedev had a
telephone conversation with Ehud Olmert and today it was
reported that the Israeli Prime Minister will go on a mission to
Moscow by the beginning of September. Its purpose, the Israeli
military radio explained, is to try to limit the entity and
quality of the possible Russian military supplies to Damascus.
Israel plans to inform the Russian leaders that it has also
limited the entity of its supplies to the armed forces of
Georgia and therefore it expects some kind of reciprocity from
Moscow. Yesterday the Russian Embassy in Tel Aviv assured that
Moscow does not have particular complaints towards Israel for
the assistance given to Georgia.
''In the past we received from the Russians many appeasing
assurances, but afterwards we had to admit that they were not
well-founded'', Zahi Hanegbi (Kadima), president of the
parliamentary commission for foreign affairs and defence,
stated. ''It is obvious that if the new Russian-Syrian military
closeness is confirmed, this would be a very negative
development'' the regional stability would be affected'',
Hanegbi also remarked. At this point, he pointed out, Syria must
decide whether to continue the indirect peace negotiations with
Israel in Turkey or to rally with the 'radical axis' against the
West. Olmert is now on the defensive for having promoted these
negotiations also when faced with the open scepticism of the
United States. Mofaz himself twisted the knife in the wound
today, stating that what Israel needs now is not ''a weak
diplomacy but a strong and expert leadership''.
Mofaz hopes to win the leadership of Kadima (and,
consequently, the office of Prime Minister) with the primary
elections of his party, on September 17. It is still not known
in Israel whether the Israeli-Syrian indirect negotiations will
actually be resumed in September. On one hand there is the
Israeli scepticism, expressed by Hanegbi and Mofaz. On the
other, there is probably also the scepticism of the Syrians, due
to the extreme fluidity of the Israeli politics, while again
today, for the sixth time, Olmert was questioned by the
anti-fraud squad of the police. (ANSAmed).