Israel expects Syria to announce Russian arms buy

JERUSALEM [Middle East Newsline] -- Israel is bracing for an imminent Syrian contract to buy Russian weapons systems.

Senior military sources said they are certain that any contract will include the Syrian purchase of the S-300 anti-aircraft missile system. They said Syria's priority has been to counter Israel's overwhelming air superiorty.

"They are not buying anything for their air force," a senior source said. "The Syrian focus is on missiles and anti-aircraft systems."

The sources said the Syrian purchase will be announced during or after the expected visit of President Hafez Assad to Moscow. They said Assad will fly to Moscow within the next two months.

Assad cancelled a visit to Moscow last month two days after Russia invited Israeli Foreign Minister Ariel Sharon for talks. Diplomats said Assad was angry over the Sharon invitation during the Syrian president's scheduled visit.

On Thursday, the Paris-based L'Express weekly quoted a CIA report as saying that Russia, Syria and Iran are intensifying their defense ties. The defense relationship is based on the Russian weapons, training and technology transfer to these countries.

The CIA says Russia is transferring missile and nuclear weapons technology to Iran. Some of that technology is being relayed to Damascus.

The newspaper quoted the CIA report as pointing to a recent visit by a Russian military delegation to Damascus and Teheran. The report said Syrian President Hafez Assad will visit Moscow over the next few weeks to conclude a major arms sale.