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Israel seeks to block sale of Iglas to Syria
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| 17 January 2004 |
By Alon Ben-David JDW Correspondent
Tel Aviv
Additional reporting by Robin Hughes JDW Middle East Editor
Israel was exerting massive diplomatic pressure on Russia as JDW went to press in an attempt to block the planned sale of 9K38 Igla man-portable surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems to Syria, as well as a potential sale of Iglas to Iran.
Israel is concerned that the systems, if sold to Syria, could potentially be transferred to the Islamic Resistance, the armed militia of the Lebanese Hizbullah, or to Palestinian insurgent groups.
Washington is supporting the Israeli position and raised its concerns about the potential deal in a meeting between Secretary of State Colin Powell and Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov in Washington on 12 January.
Only the day before, Ivanov announced that Washington and Moscow were close to finalising an agreement on the control of man-portable SAM systems, which he said are strongly desired by terrorists.
Ivanov said it took only a few months for teams from the Russian and US defence establishments to reach an agreement aimed at controlling the trade in man-portable air defence systems (MANPADS). "We have already completed the work between the two defence establishments so that an agreement on the exchange of information on MANPADS could well be signed," he said on 11 January. "And this agreement is due to be signed pretty soon."
The potential Igla acquisition is part of a wider arms deal between Syria and Russia that also includes the Kornet-E anti-tank guided missile system and possibly the Almaz S-300PMU medium-range low- to high-altitude SAM system. However, Ivanov and Israeli defence sources denied reports that Russia intends to sell the Iskander E short-range ballistic missile to Syria.
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