Senators target Russian defense contracts over Moscow’s arming of Syrian regime

Special to WorldTribune.com

WASHINGTON — At least 17 members of the Senate have demanded a halt to U.S. Defense
Department contracts with Moscow.

The senators, both Democrats and
Republicans, said Russian defense companies should not be selected for U.S.
military projects as long as the Kremlin approves the export of
fighter-jets, missiles and rockets to the regime of Syrian President Bashar
Assad.

The U.S. military should rethink its $900 million contract with the official Russian government-controlled arms broker, 17 senators said in a letter to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.

“U.S. taxpayers should not be put in a position where they are
indirectly subsidizing the mass murder of Syrian civilians,” the senators said in a letter to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.

The letter, dated March 12, cited Russia’s close military cooperation with Assad, including the Kremlin’s forgiveness of nearly $8 billion in debt to Damascus. This included the sale of 36 Yak-130 light attack aircraft by Russia’s state-owned arms export agency Rosoboronexport.

The Pentagon has sought Russian defense contractors for the supply of platforms to such countries as Afghanistan and Iraq. The U.S. Army has signed a $375 million agreement with Rosoboronexport for 21 Mi-17 utility helicopters for the Afghan military.

“The sizable proceeds of this Defense Department contracts are helping to finance a firm that is essentially complicit in mass atrocities in Syria, especially in light of Russia’s history of forgiving huge amounts of Syria’s
debt on arms sales, as occurred in 2005 during President Assad’s state visit
to Moscow,” the senators said. “Continuing this robust business relationship
with Rosoboronexport would undermine U.S. policy on Syria and undermine U.S.
efforts to stand with the Syrian people.”

Russia has been deemed a leading supporter of the Assad regime.
Officials said the United States has concluded that the Kremlin was
coordinating with both China and Iran to provide political, financial and
security assistance to quell the year-long Sunni revolt.

“They’ve [Russians] transferred not only military aid but also economic
assistance as well,” Panetta said. “So they’ve had a very long-standing
relationship with Syria that makes them, as I said, one of the key players
if they really wanted to assert, you know, the kind of responsibility they
should. They would be a key player in bringing pressure on Assad.”

But the administration of President Barack Obama has already ruled out
blocking Russian sales for the Afghan military. Officials said the
administration has deemed the supply of Mi-17 helicopters as crucial for the
NATO effort to stabilize Afghanistan.

With regard to our own relatively modest contract with
[Rosoboronexport], my understanding is that this is to allow for the
maintenance and upkeep of some former Soviet helicopters that were donated
or purchased for the Afghan military and form part of the backbone of the
small flying squad that the Afghans themselves have these,” State Department
spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said on March 13. “And only that entity actually
has the spare parts.”

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