TA-ANALYSIS: Russia Denies Pending Missile Deal With Syria

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Ron Synovitz, Prague, 13 January 2005 (RFE/RL)- U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said Washington would be unhappy if any such deal was agreed. "We've seen reports of the sale. The U.S. policy on this is very clear," boucher said. "We're against the sale of weaponry to Syria, against the sale of lethal military equipment to Syria, which is a state sponsor of terrorism. And we think those kinds of sales are not appropriate. The Russians know about this policy. They know about our views."

Hughes said he is puzzled as to why Syria would need to purchase Iskander-E missiles from Russia, considering its own weapons development programs. "The Iskander-E -- 'E' standing for 'export' -- is a short-range ballistic missile. Its advantage over other missiles that Syria has at the moment is that it has greater accuracy -- a better guidance system. But I can't see why the Syrians would want that when they are already developing a [more accurate SCUD called the] SCUD-D ballistic missile," Hughes said.

Hughes said a deal for SA-18 antiaircraft missiles would make more sense, in the context of recent Israeli air strikes on Syria and the dilapidated condition of Syrian air defenses. "The SA-18 is a man-portable surface-to-air missile -- easy to deploy and not easy to track because, as I say, they are man-portable," he said. "Troops can carry them in the field, so there are no fixed positions. So it might prove a threat [to Israel]. What has happened is that the Syrian Air Force has been badly depleted in the past decade or so. And the Syrians have invested in their air-defense systems. And this would just be an augmentation to that."


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