Russia, Syria said to be near arms accord

MOSCOW [MENL] -- Syria and Russia are said to be nearing an accord on a huge weapons deal, diplomatic sources said.

The sources said Moscow has shelved its demand for an arrangement to repay any of Syria's $12 billion debt to Russia. They said Russia has instead concluded that an arms deal with Syria would increase Russia's involvement in the Middle East.

"The feeling is that Russia needs to announce an arms deal with Syria to prove it is a player in the Middle East," a diplomatic source said. "The details of the deal can be worked out later."

The sources said the Syrian shopping list will probably begin with anti-tank weapons and tanks upgrades. This would be followed by the S-300 anti-aircraft defense system. They said Syria will probably not purchase advanced Russian planes, such as the Sukhoi-27, because of its high price tag.

The deal is estimated at more than $1 billion.

Aliza Shenhar, Israel's former ambassador to Moscow, said despite their financial dispute Syria and Russia remain close. "Syria wants to buy Russian weapons," Ms. Shenhar said. "They also need spare parts. Russia wants to sell and Syria needs its friend for this."

Russian sources said Moscow arrived to this conclusion after the June visit of Syrian President Hafez Assad to Moscow. The sources said Assad refused to commit to repaying Syria's debt to Russia.

Syria, however, is willing to pay for new Russian weapons. Syrian Defense Minister Mustafa Tlass told the Al Baath newspaper that Syria will continue to modernize and strengthen its armed forces to counter Israeli efforts.

"Beefing up the Syrian Army with the most sophisticated weapons is a natural right," Tlass said during an inspection of Syrian troops in Lebanon. "We'll continue to do so as long as others [Israel] make every effort to obtain the most sophisticated weapons."

In an unrelated development, Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov telephoned Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Mussa and Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat. The call came as Moscow announced the death of Russian Middle East envoy, Viktor Posavylyuk, who died at age 59 of cancer.