Thursday, May 30, 2013

Hezbollah: Assad Claims Russian Missiles Shipment


Lebanese Hezbollah media is quoting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as saying the first shipment of an advanced Russian air defense system has been delivered to his country.
Assad's comments were released Thursday by Al-Manar, a Lebanese media outlet owned by the pro-Assad militant group Hezbollah.

There was no independent verification or Russian comment. But if confirmed, the delivery of the sophisticated S-300 anti-aircraft missiles would represent a major upgrade to Syria's air defenses.

Syria's ally Russia has promised to go ahead with the long-delayed sale of the missiles, saying it would help prevent intervention by foreign forces.

There was no public comment from Israel, where defense chief Moshe Yaalon suggested this week that Israel may take out the S-300s if they are delivered.

Israel is concerned its airspace could be within the range of the surface-to-air missiles. It could also limit its ability to carry out airstrikes in Syria to stop weapons shipments bound for Hezbollah.

Analysts say the flow of additional weapons into Syria could complicate the U.S.- and Russian-proposed peace talks aimed at ending the 26-month conflict.

On Wednesday, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon acknowledged progress already has been slow in arranging the talks, which are tentatively scheduled for early June in Geneva.

Ban said key elements are still undecided, including whether the Syrian opposition will attend and who would represent it.

"We have yet to find out, agree, mutually agreeable and convenient date for a meeting, and also we have yet to see how the opposition groups are discussing their unity issues," he said. "We expect that opposition group will come in a coherent and unified manner as a single representations."

Syrian opposition leaders on Wednesday said they will not participate in the talks without a timetable and a "binding international guarantee" for the withdrawal of Assad.

The Assad government has agreed, in principle, to attend. But on Wednesday, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem insisted Assad would remain president until at least the 2014 elections, and that he may run for another term.

Bob Bowker, a Middle East specialist and professor at the Australian National University, said neither side is likely to look for a political settlement as long as it believes it can win the conflict.

"And at this moment, the regime certainly believes it will ultimately prevail. The rebels are a long way from acknowledging that they are not going to win," he said. "Each of the contending parties has sufficient external support to keep on going for quite a long time."

Another issue challenging the talks, says Bowker, is the Syrian opposition's failure to find any form of political coherence so that it can be a credible party to the negotiations.

The Syrian National Coalition, the country's main opposition bloc, meets in Istanbul on Thursday, wrapping up a week of talks that have been characterized by sharp disagreements about its leadership and direction.

Russia's foreign minister on Thursday criticized the coalition for demanding Assad's removal as a precondition for the talks. Sergei Lavrov said Moscow believes the group is everything it can to prevent a political process from starting.

The U.N. says the 26-month civil war, which began as a largely peaceful protest against Assad's government, has killed at least 80,000 people. 

Sources :
http://www.voanews.com/content/un-chief-progess-slow-on-syria-peace-talks/1671183.html

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