Assad says Russian S-300 missiles have arrived in Syria

President claims delivery of long-range weapons believed to be in retaliation for EU decision to lift arms embargo




An S-300 missile being prepared to be launched at a military training ground in Russia. President Bashar al-Assad says Russia has delivered the weapons to Syria. Photograph: Vladimir Mashatin/AFP/Getty Images

President Bashar al-Assad has said Russian anti-aircraft missiles have arrived in Syria, Lebanese TV reported, in a claim that is likely to dramatically increase tensions in the region and could provoke the Israelis to launch a strike against the weapons.
In an interview with the al-Manar channel, to be broadcast on Thursday, Assad allegedly confirmed that Moscow had delivered the long-range S-300 air defence missiles. The TV channel is owned by the Shia militant group Hezbollah, whose fighters support the Assad regime.
The deal between the Kremlin and the Syrian government has been in train for some time. But the S-300 shipment, if confirmed, appears to be Russian retaliation for the EU's decision this week to lift an arms embargo on Syria. Britain, France and others such as Turkey are seeking to arm the country's moderate opposition.
Israeli officials admitted there was confusion as to whether Assad's claim that he had received the S-300s was correct. "We are trying to find out exactly what the situation is but currently we just don't know," one said. This week the defence minister, Moshe Ya'alon, signalled that Israel was prepared to destroy the Russian system on the ground before it became operational.
The high-ranking Israeli official added: "This move will certainly change the whole dynamic [of Israeli involvement in the Syrian conflict]. This is mostly as a result of the EU's reckless decision to lift the arms embargo.
"I don't know if the shipment of the missiles was a direct result of that decision, but it certainly gave the Russians a pretext to go ahead and do what they wanted to do in the first place. If they had any misgivings, doubts about the timing, the EU decision rid them of these."
The Foreign Office described Russia's move as unhelpful. It said Damascus had proved incapable of using its weapons systems proportionately or discriminately and had fired lethal Scud missiles against its own cities. The focus should be on the political process, the Foreign Office said.
But attempts to convene a peace conference next month in Geneva appear to be unravelling. Syria's divided opposition insists the government should be excluded from talks, while Russia and France are at odds over whether Iran should take part.
The developments raise fears that the two-year Syrian battle is morphing inexorably into a high-stakes regional war, as well as a cold-war-style proxy conflict pitting Russia against the west.
Israel has carried out several air strikes in recent months that it says destroyed weapons bound for Hezbollah, an Assad ally in Lebanon along with Iran and Russia. Most experts believe Israeli jets carried out the strikes from outside Syrian airspace.
Robert Hewson, editor of IHS Jane's Air-Launched Weapons, said it was plausible that some parts of the S-300s had arrived in Syria. "The whole thing is a collection of vehicles. You have a launcher, radar and a command and control vehicle. You need all of that working together."
He described the system as formidable and respected by western military planners: "If your plan is to waltz into Syrian airspace and start bombing things this is a big wrinkle."
Hewson said the Russians would inevitably supply military advisers who would work closely with the Syrian military and train them how to use the system: "There is a big danger that if you blow the S-300 up you will kill a lot of Russians. I don't think the Israelis want to do that. This is Russia operating at a big international level and saying: 'Assad is still our guy and we stand beside him.'"
Western intelligence agencies would know when the S-300s were operational because they had a "distinctive radar signal", he added.
The S-300s have a range of up to 125 miles and the capability to track and strike multiple targets simultaneously. "It flies very high and very fast, and goes a long way," Hewson said. They are primarily used to strike enemy aircraft but can also target cruise missiles. Syria possesses Russian-made air defences and would want to integrate the new S-300s into its existing systems, he added.
When Israeli warplanes struck near the capital, Damascus, targeting purported Iranian missiles intended for Hezbollah earlier this month, Syria did not respond. But on Wednesday Syria's foreign minister, Walid al-Moallem, told Lebanon's al-Mayadeen TV that Damascus would retaliate immediately if Israel struck Syrian soil again. It was the regime's starkest warning to Israel since the beginning of the conflict in March 2011, but it was not clear if there was a link between Moallem's remark and the Russian shipment.
Israel has long lobbied Moscow about the planned sale of S-300 air-defence missiles to Syria. However, on Tuesday, Russia's deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, said the Kremlin remained committed to the deal.
Monday's decision by the EU to lift the arms embargo opened the possibility for individual countries to send weapons to Assad's outgunned opponents, though there was no indication any single European country would send lethal weapons to the rebels soon.
Britain and France, the main military powers in the EU, had pushed for the lifting of the embargo, arguing that Europe's threat of arming the rebels would force Assad to negotiate in good faith. Russia criticised Europe's decision, saying it undercut international efforts to bring opposing sides together for a Geneva II peace conference.
There was no immediate reaction from Israel on the Russian shipment but Silvan Shalom, a cabinet minister from prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu's party, told Israel Radio the Jewish state would take actions to ensure advanced weapons did not reach rogue groups.
　
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/may/30/assad-russian-s300-missiles-syria