Date:16/04/2003 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2003/04/16/stories/2003041604241400.htm

International

U.S. threats to Syria irk Russia

By Vladimir Radyuhin

MOSCOW APRIL 15. Russia voiced displeasure at accusations by the United States that Syria was harbouring overthrown Iraqi leaders and possessed chemical weapons. Such charges "do not contribute to normalisation of the situation in Iraq and to stability in the region as a whole, including the Arab-Israeli settlement,'' the Interfax news agency quoted an unnamed Russian diplomat as saying.

Another high-ranking source in the Russian Foreign Ministry told Interfax that Moscow took "a sceptical view of Washington's charges against Damascus.'' Meanwhile, a retired senior officer at the Defence Ministry said Moscow had refused to sell Syria advanced anti-missile systems because of opposition from the U.S. and Israel. ``I was witness to an agreement between the (Russian) Defence Minister, Igor Sergeyev, and (Syrian President) Hafez Assad, to supply the S-300 (air-defence systems) to Syria, but the deal was never cleared because the U.S. and Israel raised objections,'' Gen. Leonid Ivashov (Retd.) said in an interview. Gen. Ivashov was head of the international cooperation department in the Russian Defence Ministry at the time.