JERUSALEM, April 28 (RIA Novosti) - Russian President Vladimir Putin banned sales of Iskander missiles, weapons having an operational range of 300 km, to Syria. Our military intended to sell to Syria the Iskander system with a range of 300 km. I have vetoed the deal. We cannot be described as irresponsible partners; we do take due account of the concerns and wishes of our partners and do everything not to break the balance of power in the region," he told a joint news conference he was holding together with his Israeli counterpart Moshe Katzav. The Russian leader cited Russia's planned sales of surface-to-air missiles to Syria, and, when an Israeli reporter asked him to comment on the deal, said, "The missiles we are supplying to Syria are of surface-to-air short-range disposition; they do not pose a threat to Israel.
To face these missiles, one has to attack Syria. Surely you don't want to do this, do you?"
"Middle East receives $9 billion's worth of weaponry from different countries, of which $6.8 billion's worth comes from the U.S., while Russia's arms sales in the Middle East amount only to $500 million," he added.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov had said previously that Russia was going to sell to Damascus the Strelets (vehicle-mounted) surface-to-air missiles whose range did not exceed 5 km (3 miles).
