Syria's president claims Russian arms are already arriving
President Bashar al-Assad said his regime has already received the first shipment of Russian anti-aircraft S-300 rockets. If true, prospects are dimmer for a US-Russia peace initiative.
President Bashar al-Assad said his regime has already received the first shipment of Russian anti-aircraft S-300 rockets. If true, prospects are dimmer for a US-Russia peace initiative.
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Russia has fulfilled a partial shipment of advanced defense missiles to Syria, President Bashar al-Assad reportedly stated in an interview with a Lebanese news channel set to be aired in full today. The revelation could jeopardize an already fragile US-Russia-sponsored peace conference scheduled for the coming weeks, and increase the threat of Syria鈥檚 violence spreading into neighboring countries.
"Syria has received the first shipment of Russian anti-aircraft S-300 rockets," Mr. Assad told Lebanese TV station Al Manar in an interview taped on Tuesday, according to The New York Times. "The rest of the shipment will arrive soon."
Russia said it would consider delivering defense missiles to Syria after the European Union decided this week to let its Syrian arms embargo lapse on June 1, reports 海角大神.
The US, Israel, and France have all issued calls to Russia to stop the delivery of the missiles, Reuters reports. And today, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said 鈥淲e must prepare defensively and offensively for the era of renewed war.鈥�
There is no confirmation the missiles have been delivered, and on Tuesday, when the interview was reportedly recorded, Israel鈥檚 defense minister said no missiles had yet been delivered from Russia, reports the Times.
The Washington Post obtained a March weapons request from Syria to Moscow, seeking a laundry list of arms including 鈥淸t]wenty-thousand Kalashnikov assault rifles and 20聽million rounds of ammunition. Machine guns. Grenade launchers and grenades. Sniper rifles with night-vision sights,鈥� according to the Post.
The BBC reports another excerpt from President Assad鈥檚 interview with Hezbollah-backed Al Manar where he states, 鈥淭he Syrian army has scored major victories against armed rebels on the ground and the balance of power is now with the Syrian army."
Some analysts say Assad鈥檚 account of a missile delivery is little more than a bluff. Assad鈥檚 鈥渟tatement may be a ruse to boost his credentials of still being a leader of Syria,鈥� Theodore Karasik, director of research at the Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis in Dubai told Bloomberg.
The peace conference, which many hoped to see launch in Geneva this month, is looking more fraught by the day. In addition to increased tensions over the EU arms embargo both the Syrian government and opposition say the other鈥檚 prerequisites for discussing peace are unacceptable. The Times reports:
The Chicago Tribune wrote an op-ed today on the importance of leverage in risky negotiations like Syria, noting that Assad and his allies have 鈥渞aised the ante鈥� in the lead-up to the Geneva peace conference: