Minister slams Russia for Syria arms sales

An Israeli Cabinet minister accused Russia of destabilizing the Middle East by selling weapons to Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime.

Monday’s remarks by Tourism Minister Uzi Landau are likely to raise tensions with Russia on the eve of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Moscow.

Landau is a former chairman of the influential Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.

Netanyahu is expected to press President Vladimir Putin to halt the arms sales to Assad’s government.

Russia has largely sided with Assad in Syria’s civil war, sending him weapons and shielding him against Western attempts to impose international sanctions.

Israel suspects that Russia plans to sell Damascus six S-300 missile batteries, as well as 144 missiles, the Wall Street Journal reported last week.

The long-range ballistic system, which can down both fighter planes and intercept cruise missiles, would represent a significant upgrade for Syria’s already formidable air defenses.

According to the WSJ report, Israeli officials say the deal has been in the works since 2010, when the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad began making payments for the $900-million package.

There have been several unconfirmed reports of the sale of the missile system to Syria over the past year.

Israel is concerned that advanced Russian weapons could fall into the hands of Lebanon’s Hezbollah group, another Assad ally.

Landau says the Russian arms supplies “promote instability in the Middle East” and that “anyone who provides weaponry to terror organizations is siding with terror.”