MOSCOW – Russian officials and diplomatic sources said that neither Russia nor
Syria was expected to announce any arms deal during the visit by Syrian
President Bashar Assad to Russia.
Assad arrives on Monday for a four-day
visit meant to revive defense, diplomatic and trade relations.
"There will be things discussed and even agreed upon, but there will not
be any formal defense accords or arms sales announced," a Russian official
said.
Russia is under pressure from both Israel and the United States not to conclude an arms deal with Syria, Middle East Newsline reported.
Russia and Syria were expected to sign seven bilateral accords during
Assad's visit, officials said. They said the agreement would include a
memorandum of understanding that could pave the way for a free trade zone
between the two countries as well as cooperation in the war against Al Qaida
and related groups.
Assad arrives in Moscow for his first visit to Russia since taking over
for his late father in 2000. Assad and his host, Russian President Vladimir
Putin, have agreed to discuss a revival of defense and military cooperation
as part of Moscow's drive to restore its influence in the Middle East.
But officials and diplomats said Putin would shy away from committing
himself to most of Assad's requests for Russian weapons. They said this
would include Assad's order of the SA-18 man-portable short-range
surface-to-air missile.
Any sale of the SA-18, officials said, would violate Russia's commitment
to the United States to end the proliferation of the so-called MANPADS, or
man-portable air defense systems. The commitment was relayed during the
visit to Washington by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov in
mid-January.
Officials rejected the argument that any SA-18 systems could be
transferred to Hizbullah, based in Lebanon and strongly supported by
Damascus. The officials said Moscow does not regard Hizbullah as a terrorist
group.
Putin has sought the signing of a counter-insurgency agreement as part of
expanded bilateral relations. Syria harbors such groups as Hamas, Hizbullah,
Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, all of
which appear
on the State Department list of terrorist organizations.
Another expected accord would commit Russia and Syria to preserve
intellectual property. Such an agreement has often preceded the transfer of
technology from one country to another.
At this point, officials said, Assad was not expected to be accompanied
by his defense minister, Hassan Turkmani. They said Turkmani and his
representatives have discussed arms sales in communications with Russia over
the last year.