Barak's win nixes Israel-Russia accord on Iran

OMSK, Russia -- A Russian-Israeli panel aimed at ensuring the halt in Russian missile and nuclear arms technology to Iran has been shelved, diplomats and officials said.

They said the panel, agreed upon during the April visit to Moscow by then-Israeli Foreign Minister Ariel Sharon was never formed. The panel was to have been part of an intense six-month effort by Russia and Israel to stop unauthorized military technology transfers by Russian companies to Teheran.

"The election in Israel just stopped everything," a diplomat said. "Everybody seems to have forgotten about it."

Details of the panel remain sketchy. Formally, the Russian Foreign Ministry never acknowledged the panel although officials acknowledge that Sharon was told by his Russian counterpart, Ivan Ivanov, that Moscow would do its best to stop the unauthorized transfer of military technology to Iran.

Lt-Gen.Viktor Kurnakhov, head of the information and technology department of the FSB, the Russian domestic intelligence agency, told MENL during the Omsk arms exhibition, which ended on Saturday, that his organization continues to fight unauthorized military technology transfers. But he could not provide details or any recent efforts.

Kurnakhov also did not acknowledge any special effort being made to stop technology transfers to Iran. "It's not our task to control or interfere," he said. "There are other organizations that do this."

The FSB official said his agency continued to fight industrial espionage and terrorism in Russia. This, he said, involved coordination with other members of the former Soviet Union.

In April, the Israeli government of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu termed the establishment of the technology control panel as a turning point in Russian-Israeli relations. Officials said Russia was promised numerous incentives to stop aiding Iran's Shihab-3 program as well as suspected efforts to develop nuclear weapons.

These incentives included Israeli joint ventures with Russia's military and space industry as well as investments in Russian companies.

But Israeli diplomatic sources are concerned that the election of Ehud Barak as Israel's new prime minister will lead to U.S. pressure to stop closer ties between Israel and Russia. The sources said the last few months of Netanyahu's regime marked a genuine attempt to launch strategic cooperation between Israel and Russia.

"This was not electioneering," an Israeli diplomat said. "But there's no question that the government never had the time to implement anything real before the elections."

For their part, Russian diplomats are confident that their relations with Israel will not cool under Barak. They said Barak recognizes the value of Russia despite his close ties to Washington.