Friday, May 31, 2013

Delivery of S-300 to Syria in Doubt



Despite a claim by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Thursday that Russia has already delivered the first batch of Russian S-300 air defense system, Russian arms industry officials said today that Moscow could delay or suspend the delivery of the missiles.

“Regarding the deliveries of the S-300, they can begin no earlier than the autumn,” a Russian arms industry official said. “Technically it's possible, but much will depend on how the situation develops in the region and the position of Western countries.” (Reuters, 31 May)

Russia’s Interfax also quoted arms industry officials as saying Russia “did not exclude that the delivery of the S-300 to Syria could be frozen for a period of time.” (Interfax/Reuters, 31 May)



Israeli officials had said that Syria still had not received the first consignment of Russian S-300 anti-missile batteries. In fact Assad was reacting to a comment by Israel’s National Security Adviser Yakov Amidror on the subject when he said during an interview with Al Manar TV that the first units of missile batteries had arrived.

Israel has also said it will destroy the missiles before they are operational. Haaretz has quoted Amidror as telling European diplomats that Israel would “prevent the S-300 missiles from becoming operational.” (Haaretz/Reuters, 31 May)

Syria has reportedly purchased four units of the S-300PMU-2 system for nearly $1 billion. Russian daily Vedomosti reported the sale this week. It is the delivery of the first of the four units of the systems that is in doubt. The S-300 can track targets up to 300 km (190 miles) away and can hit at a range of up to 200 km.

File photo: S-300 batteries (Al Arabiya)

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

More scared Zionist smokescreen and lies. This is a moot issue now. Not even worth commenting. Enough said!

Anonymous said...

This should be the final report on Syrian situation as it coming to a conclusion even by NATO assessment:

NATO data: Assad winning the war for Syrians’ hearts and minds

LONDON — After two years of civil war, support for the regime of
Syrian President Bashar Assad was said to have sharply increased.

NATO has been studying data that told of a sharp rise in support for
Assad. The data, compiled by Western-sponsored activists and organizations,
showed that a majority of Syrians were alarmed by the Al Qaida takeover of
the Sunni revolt and preferred to return to Assad. The widespread atrocities committed by the Wahabbi terrorists and most revolting act of cannibalism has even turned western public opinion distinctly against the so-called "rebels" a fragmented group of foreign terrorists and Iraq based al-Nusra gang, even blacklisted by the UN.

The people are sick of the war and hate the jihadists more than Assad,”
a Western source familiar with the data said. “Assad is winning the war
mostly because the people are cooperating with him against the rebels.” Staunch Russian, Iranian, Iraqi and Hezbollah support has made Assad unassailable.

The data, relayed to NATO over the last month, asserted that 70 percent
of Syrians support the Assad regime. Another 20 percent were deemed neutral and the remaining 10 percent expressed support for the rebels.

The sources said no formal polling was taken in Syria, racked by two
years of civil war in which perhaps 60,000 people were reported killed. NATO sources also poured doubts on rebel propaganda based casualty figures and also on the exaggerated number of refugees. They said the data came from a range of activists and independent organizations that were working in Syria, particularly in relief efforts.

The data was relayed to NATO as the Western alliance has been divided
over whether to intervene in Syria. Britain and France were said to have
been preparing to send weapons to the rebels while the United States was
focusing on protecting Syria’s southern neighbor Jordan.

A report to NATO said Syrians have undergone a change of heart over the
last six months. The change was seen most in the majority Sunni community,
which was long thought to have supported the revolt.

“The Sunnis have no love for Assad, but the great majority of the
community is withdrawing from the revolt,” the source said. “What is left is
the foreign fighters and Salafi terrorists who are sponsored by Qatar and Saudi Arabia. They are seen by the secular Sunnis, Christians and other minorities as far worse than Assad.”

Support for President Assad in the Alawite, Kurdish and Druze communities stood at over 99%.







Anonymous said...

New Russian Defense Minister S. Shoigu, rewarded with a medal of Russia's hero; for endangering his personal life during an involvement to prevent a major national catastrophy, has recently stated; during his visit to Finland, that in a field of physics every action is followed by an reaction.

He suggested that any adverse West's actions, from now, should be answered by those rules of reactions to any actions.

It is then reasonable to plan and fulfill any previous commitments in the light of Patriot's missiles deployment in Turkey and recent Israeli military actions against Syria. Rusia apparently will wait for the outcome of the planned Geneva conference.

Of course, in a case of any kind of repeated israeli aggression against Syria, Russia will immediately release "its promises to Syria".

A-F

Nader Uskowi said...

When Assad claimed that the first batteries of the S-300 have been delivered to Syria, a claim that we now know could be false and typical of Assad’s claims, a large number of commentators on this blog hailed the delivery as a sign of victory of the Syrian government over not only the opposition, but also Israel and the West. They even claimed that the Islamic Republic has gained enormously from the delivery of the S-300 and has now found additional immunity from an attack by the West. And they predicted that the West has to invent new arsenal to deal with Assad.

Well, this post should be a sobering reminder to all not to fall in the trap of generalizing everything so fast in such a complicated situation. The Syrian conflict has turned into a quagmire, for all sides, and will require that all sides make tough compromises to end it. Geneva 2 could be the start of a long process to bring some resemblance of normally back to the country.

Anonymous said...

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=2f4_1370064236 --- Terrorists in Syria warns of imminent defeat.

Anonymous said...

For my part Mr Uskowi, I hailed that not as a victory for Assad, but rather as a much needed improvement to the military balance in the region that has too long been in Israel's uncontested favor and emboldened it to go past all the reasonable lines of sovereignty and state integrity when it comes to the fulfillment of its own geopolitical agendas beyond its contested borders for the past decade.

It is true that if used as a trump card effectively, it could force Assad to revise its position of going all-out in force against the rebellion to crush it entirely without feeling the need for negotiations. But despite his claims and the opinion you have on it, it is indeed not the regime, but the fragmented rebels that are putting constant preconditions to finally come to that goddamn negotiating table. Do you deny or confirm such an information ?

Also, we didn't hear much from you about the legitimacy of Israel's past three unprovoked and unilateral strikes they conducted against the Syrian State in the middle of its quagmire, that many international commentators, including the Arab League and Turkey's rebel-friendly Erdogan rightfully decried as flagrant violations of all international laws and a very dangerous and irresponsible act that will have the undesirable effect of heightening chances of drastic escalations nobody would need as of this moment in the region, while, ironically, being overtly hailed by Obama itself as a righteous act of "self-defense"... yes of course.

What would you have to say about the thousands of violations the Lebanese have had to endure to this day within their country's airspace through low-flying, non-stop sonic-boom making F-16s hovering above their heads despite systematic UN condemnations the IDF received and of course, ignored in all classical fashion of unrestrained, bellicose behavior it holds towards its neighbors internal affairs and state integrity while receiving top of the line weaponry from France, Germany, the US and others almost free of charge on a regular basis, notably their fifth gift from Merkel, a nuclear-capable Dolphin Submarine able to cruise silently close to Iranian shores and threaten it at will through nuclear blackmail if ever needed ?

And what exactly is so wrong and outrageous with the delivery of an exclusively defensive air defense system that cannot possibly be turned against the rebels even if the regime wanted to one day ? and why do the latter have a demonstrated preference in taking on these assets though they do not pose any kind of threats against their ranks, notably a few weeks before the first Israeli strikes in january ?

What in this sale is so blatantly destabilizing in the fact that it restricts the ability of Syria potential aggressors, would it be its neighboring arch-foe occupying part of key Syrian territory overlooking its capital, or any other country for that matter, from taking any future unilateral action against the state, both provoking anger and hatred towards themselves from the average Syrians, rallying a part of them behind Assad as a natural reaction, and allowing him at the same time to add basis to his claims that every single rebel is linked with foreign agents and hence has to be destroyed as a sole alternative ? Every iteration of such unilateral external military action is a Win-Win scenario for Assad in that regard, following the exact aforementioned pattern every time.

In turn, is the end of the EU arms embargo for the rebels a good, responsible, and stabilizing decision according to you, right in the midst of ongoing talks for Geneva-2 ? doesn't the S-300 announcement constitute a de-facto fair counter-balance to this by the Russians ? they say they won't transfer the system before autumn, that is exactly the period of time EU states have said they will take before making first deliveries of weapons, I don't see anything but a measured, well-though, tit-for-tat approach by the foreign ministry here...

Anonymous said...

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=fd1_1370018065#comment_page=2 --- Somewhere in the Battle of Qusayr, FSA seem hard-pressed and somewhat encircled, trying to break out...?

Anonymous said...

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=07a_1370084853 --- First hard evidence of Iranian presence in Syria; IRGC advisor communcation over radio is intercepted!!!

Nader Uskowi said...

@ 9:18 AM,

Thanks for your comments and clarifications. My problem with your analysis: it is based on the need of regional countries maintaining balance of power with Israel. You and I are not state actors that our main concerns are the foreign policies of the nation states in the region, but citizens whose main concerns, I believe, should be directed toward development of more democratic systems in the countries of the region, especially the countries of our own or our origins.

And this problem does not just come up with regard to the Syrian conflict, but also on Iran, and it’s particularly prevalent among the Left. At its extreme, we are told not to talk about freedom and democracy in the country, because by doing so we will weaken a regime that is in the forefront of anti-US/anti-West front.

Let me use a historic example to make my point. The Left did not want the West declare war on the Nazis because it would have weakened Stalin who then had a treaty with Germany. Only when Hitler attacked Russia, did they come to their senses and supported the anti-Fascist war. What do we learn from this example: progressive movements cannot, and should not, base all their political calculations solely on larger global events and trends at the expense of the need of local population for freedom and democracy. Otherwise they run the risk of aligning themselves with the rightwing extremists. Be it Assad in Damascus, or the right-wingers in Tehran.

Having said that, I do not argue for supporting all opposition forces everywhere in the world. If concrete analysis of concrete situations had not become an empty slogan, I would have argued for the approach here. In Syria, we deal with sectarian violence, the worst kind. When religious wars start, they do not end. There we have a president who between him and his father have ruled Syria with heavy hands for four decades, and ironically is supported by secular forces, trying to literally kill his opposition and in the process has divided the country on sectarian lines. On the other sides we have extremists Islamists and terrorists who are ready to kill their opponents. There must be a center in the country, moderates of both sides, who should get together to end the violence. You might argue that Assad’s victory might be costly for Israel, but what happens in Syria? the continuation of more decades of dictatorship. We have to be on the side of democratic forces and against the dictators. That's the right path.

B.M.A said...

Uskowi is also VERY good! in ducking bullets -i mean questions!!.

Nader Uskowi said...

Thanks for the compliment! And you probably wished bullets, didn't you?

Anonymous said...

Uskowi, you think that youre so clever.

"Let me use a historic example to make my point. The Left did not want the West declare war on the Nazis because it would have weakened Stalin who then had a treaty with Germany".

In the case of the Middle East, Uskowi, the Zionist are the Nazis!

"In Syria, we deal with sectarian violence, the worst kind. When religious wars start, they do not end. There we have a president who between him and his father have ruled Syria with heavy hands for four decades, and ironically is supported by secular forces, trying to literally kill his opposition and in the process has divided the country on sectarian lines. , who should get together to end the violence".

Who? how dare you ask Who? First of all, the Tehrangeles Shaw n Shaw, Misfits
should have an understanding heart here, with Dr. Al-Asads sense of family rule, being that the Palahvi's ruled Iran for so many decades! Moreover the true friends of Syria, should be the deciding element that brings peace to Syria and these would be, Iran, Russia, China and Hezbollah! The FSA/SALAFI/WAHABI are the criminal Scum canabal's of NATO and ZIONAZI Israel.They should be driven out and pushed into the very bottom of the Sea. And their is nothing progressive about Canabalism, Sir.

Anonymous said...

Mr Uskowi, your usual inability to accept reality is very much on display again. Perhaps such wishful thinking gives you hope for the unattainable. As any rational person would know US/Zionist aims have bit the dust and their puppets from Turkey to Zionistan are in trouble. I wonder why you not obsessed about Turkey being cooked as the Arab spring hits the imbecile Erdogan's rotten Turkish carcass and failed policies of warmongering in Syria? In any case Syria, Iran and Hezbollah have created a new Middle East order and Syria will indeed get modern weapons and there will be a "game changer" in the region. In any case you are welcome to keep on flogging a dead horse. The Syrian "crises" is over and as I predicted before President Assad and the Islamic Republic of Iran are here to stay and Hezbollah will only take on a larger role. US is indeed a decaying, isolated bankrupt deadbeat police state on a road to nowhere. Now focus on the weak Turkish state implode!

Anonymous said...

Thanks you for taking the time to provide an extensive answer.In your terms, if I understand it well, it means « The Left » perceives events globally rather than in a citizen level.

But for your analysis of their errors in history, I'm afraid I cannot agree. Stalin indeed got lured into sealing a non-aggression pact with Hitler, but only because for him, the war was taking place between colonialist powers of that time, and he didn't want to take any part or throw the slightest human or industrial resources to do it, since his country was barely benefiting from the fruit of his Stakanovist policies, while Churchill on the other hand, was busy finding a way of diverting Hitler's attention towards the rising Soviet empire, hence canalize his greed for global power eastwards. In that regard, he did everythingto provoke Hitler into going at war exclusively with the Soviets rather than taking on Western Europe. At that point, can we say that he was caring about killing fascism in general, or rather thinking globally as a State Actor wanting to preserve its colonial might and avoid the emergence of a new industrial and economic communist giant to threaten it ? It was only Hitler's folly and viscerally anti-communist ideology that brought him to disregard Churchill's attempts and attack him too.

And to add insult to injury, the US, before Pearl Harbor, at the same time, were still furnishing weaponry to the Nazi regime while it was busy perpetrating its first massacres in Europe, purging leftist movements as a priority target along with Jews, in every country the stepped in.

Israel funded and helped create Hamas in the early 80s in a way to create a radical enemy easy to point fingers at, and weaken as much as possible then-dominant Arafat's PLO, which was completely secularist in these years and the most popular movement in the fight to retake occupied lands. And to this very day, one only witness how brilliantly and relentlessly they've been using that Islamist movement in its Gazan as a pretext for so many abuses.

Same went for Reagan's administration when he decided to opt for funding, creating, training, and furnishing in Afghanistan, somewhere in the early 80s as well, one of the most deadly and obscurantist militancy movements in the world that is now infamous to all, For that I blame both the USSR and the USA for their wrestling for power in that strategic region, but facts are stronger than politics : You probably know that before the Moudjahidin took over, Afganistan was the main source of trained female doctors within the neighboring countries, that there was no dress code whatsoever in the streets, that the civilian industry was going upwards, would it be in construction, or agriculture. Did the West care about preserving any of this when their arch-foe was gone ?
We know the rest : global ruin and "Somalization" for Afghanistan, and a Taliban rising star that ultimately got totally out of hands as we all know too well since 2001, through a tragic "Frankensteinian" phenomenon.

So for this kind of historical examples, Nader, I cannot Judge the West or at least the "non-Left" as any more worthy of trust or support than what you see in the Left. At best, they're all the same when it comes to proxy wars and geopolitical games. And in the current mess, in the eyes of more and more average Syrians, the Baathist regime has become again (quite unfortunately so) the sole holder of secular order for a growing number of Syrians, including refugees who have lost faith in a new future, and who would want nothing else than simply getting back at their lives the way it was before. Which is as tragic as it will set a terrible precedent for uprisings to come, in Iran included... what we can hope for is, in the end, a rapid settlement, with a relatively weakened Assad and no real breakthrough of external influence within Syria... some kind of a draw, 100,000 lives later.... on that point, I canot be anything but in total agreement with you.

-Abtin.

Anonymous said...

"In the case of the Middle East, Uskowi, the Zionist are the Nazis!"

not really. a less ignorant person would know that the Palestinians (and other Arab groups) were admirers and allies of the Nazis.

Anonymous said...

"not really. a less ignorant person would know that the Palestinians (and other Arab groups) were admirers and allies of the Nazis".

Well, Morons and like minded illiterates,would no that an estimated 130,000 full blood and half blood jews were Conscripts, NCO's and officers. In Hitlers
weirmacht!

Reinhart Heydrich,(The Blond Beast)Himself was 3/4 of a Jew. He was SS Obergruppenführer (General) and General der Polizei, chief of the Reich Main Security Office (including the Gestapo and Kripo) and Stellvertretender Reichsprotektor (Deputy Reich-Protector) of Bohemia and Moravia (in what is now known as the Czech Republic). Heydrich served as President of Interpol (the international law enforcement agency) and chaired the January 1942 Wannsee Conference, which formalised plans for the final solution to the Jewish Question—the deportation and extermination of all Jews in German-occupied territory. Yes thats right my friend. A Jew who was a Career officer in the SS who personally supervised the slaughter of his own People. Read Dr. Brian T Riggs Book, Hitlers Jewish soldiers. Jews that wore the Nazi Uniform, not (Arab allies)or admirers. For future reference learn how to read and research history, it will spare you alot of embarassment.

Anonymous said...

you're a mess of utter ignorance and happily swallowing nonsense because it suits your bigoted delusional view.

do you even know the meaning of the word "conscript"?

Anonymous said...

No he doesn't ! By the way he needs to "read and research" as it is "Wehrmacht" not "weirmacht"

Anonymous said...

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=ce1_1370184974 --- Israel prepared to strike the S-300

Anonymous said...

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=b93_1370209501 --- 5 questions on Russian S-300 sale to Syria

Anonymous said...

Assad statement was manipulated by different agencies to serve their goals and one of those goals was to accuse him (Assad) about lies, where in reality meaning his words were distorted..

His statements could indicate that a part of auxilliary equipment was delivered or that Syrian personnel is in training on Russia's teritory to operate those systems.
Some western journalist also underlined possibilities for a different interpretation of Assad's words.

Russian diplomats never used words that the contract was completed, instead they used their information as a final warning to adversaries...
If you analyze my statements too, there is no decisive statement that that delivery was completed and the author again tries to distort my position on that matter.

The author's statement that large number of commentators hailed the delivery is not precise, because they could mean a commencement of fullfilment of that contract by different means, such as TELs only delivery, or command and radar vehicles' delivery; which doesn't mean that that delivery was completed...

Finally it is a stupidity to assume, that the Russia or Assad would announce, that the deal was done, when they decided to wait for that Geneva 2 conference's outcome and avoid to be blamed for a disruption of its conditions and outcome...

A-F