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Russia warns West against arming Syrian rebels
Russia warned the West on Thursday that arms to Syrian opposition forces will end up in the hands of extremists, amid reports that Moscow has readied a shipment of fighter jets for the Syrian government.Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the radical al-Nusra Front - an outfit that has been listed by the United States as a terrorist group - would handle weapons earmarked for the opposition. "The overwhelming number of weapons that get to Syria will be distributed by Jabhat al-Nusra," he said in an interview with the Rossia-24 television channel, according to Russian news agencies. Russia, Syria's key arms supplier, has strongly criticized military support for the rebels, while defending as legitimate its own arms sales to the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. Lavrov reiterated that Moscow would honor all weapons deals with the Syrian government. "We're fulfilling all our contracts," Lavrov said. Asked about the controversial shipment of S-300 air defence systems, he merely said that "those contracts have not been fully realised." The advanced surface-to-air missiles are designed to counter aircraft and cruise missiles. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that Moscow postponed the S-300 missiles in order "not to destroy the strategic balance." A media report said Thursday however that a batch of Russian combat training jets is ready for shipment to Syria. Posted by: tipper 2013-06-20 |
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