Israeli Defense Minister Minister Moshe Ya'alon said that a Russian plan to supply sophisticated anti-aircraft missiles to Syria amounted to a "threat" to the Jewish State, indicating that Israel is prepared to use force to stop the delivery, the Associated Press reported.
A top Russian official said on Tuesday that the planned sale of S-300 air-defense missiles to the Assad pro-Syrian government forces remain committed to the deal, news reports said.
"Clearly this move is a threat to us," Yaalon told reporters about the planned Russian sale. "At this stage, I can't say there is an escalation. The shipments have not been sent on their way yet. And I hope they will not be sent," he said. But, "if God forbid they do reach Syria, we will know what to do."
In recent talks, Israel has been lobbying for Moscow to halt shipments of missiles, for fears of upsetting the balance of power in the region, as they could land in hostile terrorist entities, like Hezbollah, a close ally of the Syrian regime.
Israel has already carried out several air-strikes in Syria, which have destroyed weapons caches intellience experts have said are bound for Hezbollah. Israel, as is policy, has not confirmed carrying out the attacks.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin traveled to Russia two weeks ago to discuss the Syrian situation with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The subject of the S-300s were believed to have been one of the main topics on the agenda, experts said.
Syria possesses Russian made air defense, and Israeli is believed to have used long-distance bombs from Israeli or Lebanon airspace. The S-300s would expand Syria's capabilities, allowing to counter air-strikes launched from foreign airspace, too.
Russia has not indicated whether Russia shipped any of the S-300s, which reportedly have a range of about 125 miles, with the capability to track and strike multiple targets at the same time. However, Russia's deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov did say that Moscow will not abandon the deal despite Western or Israeli criticism.
"We understand the concerns and signals sent to us from different capitals. We realize that many of our partners are concerned about the issue," Ryabkov said. "We have no reason to revise our stance."
Russia has been the key ally of the Syrian regime, protecting it from United Nations sanctions, continuing to provide the pro-Assad forces with weapons, despite a civil war, which has already claimed over 70,000 lives, news reports said.
