Russia to begin arms deliveries to Syria this week

Russia plans to begin deliveries of advanced weapons systems to Syria later this week, U.S. and Russian sources said.

The Russian sources said the deliveries will begin with the Sukhoi-27 fighters as part of a $500 million arms deal. The deal is the first stage of a project to deliver up to $2 billion of Russian weapons to Damascus pressed by Syrian President Hafez Assad.

The sources said the first squadron of Su-27 fighters will be delivered within the next few days. This would mean the arrival of up to 25 advanced warplanes.

The sources said Russia will also resume deliveries of anti-tank missiles such as the KornetE and MetisM. No date was set.

In Washington, congressional sources following intelligence reports on Russia confirmed the imminent deliveries. They said at this point the Su-27 will be the only major system that will be delivered. Other systems, they said, are being held up because of financial and military considerations.

The weapons being delayed include the S-300 anti-aircraft missile, which is said to be superior to the Patriot in the ability to intercept ballistic missiles. The sources said the S-300 is being delayed by a dispute over Syria's $11 billion debt to Moscow.

Congressional sources said Moscow agreed to immediate deliveries of weapons after Damascus threatened to deny Russia access to the Syrian port of Tartus near Latakia.

"Recently, Damascus conditioned the continued Russian access to Tartus on the resumption of weapons deals irrespective of outstanding financial problems," a congressional source said. "Despite its apprehension, Moscow has no other alternative."

On March 30, Howard Kohr, executive director of the American Israel Public Affairs told the House Appropriations Committee that Russia was preparing to rearm Damascus. "Syria's large conventional armed forces are due to be re-equipped with new Russian hardware and the size of its chemical-tipped Scud arsenal continues to grow," Kohr said. "If peace with Damascus is achieved, Israel will face a long period of uncertainly following a pullback from the Golan in which the commitment of Assad or his successor will be tested. Should negotiations reach an irreconcilable impasse, however, Israel will have to be all the more prepared, in case Syria looks for other options to win back the Golan Heights."

Still, Russia is also delaying implementation of an agreement to supply Moscow's T-90 main battle tanks, congressional sources said. They said the agreement was part of a package quietly completed last year between Russian and Syrian leaders.

Russian sources said Moscow withheld approval of the sale of many weapons in the deal with Damascus because of financial and military considerations. This included Moscow's desire to play an active role in Middle East peace as well as insistence that Damascus pays for weapons in cash.

But President Vladimir Putin, who plans to visit Syria in early July, changed Russian policy. The sources said this was the result of warnings by Assad to link Russian naval access to the Syrian port of Tartus to the weapons deal.

Putin's change in policy comes despite apprehension in Moscow that Syria will use the new weapons in any future war with Israel. They said Tartus is the only naval base in the Mediterranean that Russia can employ for operational purposes.

The sources said the reconnaissance ships of the Black Sea Fleet use Tartus as their main forward base. The Russian fleet maintains a naval repair yard and coastal service depots in Tartus.