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'Russia to deploy missiles in Syria'

Report: Russia plans to deploy Iskander missiles in Syria Russia plans to place its advanced missile systems in Syria to counter US and Israeli interventions in South Ossetia, an Israeli website says.

DEBKAfile said in a report on its website that Moscow appears to be eying Poland, the Middle East, and possibly Ukraine, as the main arenas for its reprisals against Israel and the US for supplying arms to the Georgian army.

"The retaliatory plan includes the establishment of big Russian military, naval and air bases in Syria and the release of advanced weapons systems including, the S-300 air-missile defense system, and
the nuclear-capable Iskander to Syria," the report said on Tuesday.

It further said that Russia is arming warships, submarines and long-range bombers in the Baltic and Middle East with nuclear warheads.

Reacting to the report it said Israel's army should revamp its anti-missile defense array and Air Force assault plans for the third time in two years.

The chairman of the Israeli Knesset foreign affairs and defense committee, Tzahi Hanegbi, slammed Ehud Olmert's plan to cut military budget, claiming that the regime faces grave confrontations in the
coming year.

Meanwhile, the official Syrian SANA news agency reported on Tuesday that President Bashar Assad pays a visit to Russia on Wednesday at the invitation of his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev.

Russia has condemned both Israel and the US for their alleged role in arming the Georgian army with sophisticated weapons and elite training to face Russian troops in South Ossetia.

Link to this article: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=67037&sectionid=351020202

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Syria: Time ripe for Russia military ties

Russia's BUK-M1 medium-range surface-to-air missile system Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says the conflict in the Caucuses underlines the need for Russia and Syria to expand military ties.

In an interview with Kommersant, President al-Assad said Damascus is prepared to 'speed up' defense cooperation with Moscow.

"I think that everyone in Russia and in the world is now aware of Israel's role and its military consultants in the Georgian crisis," said President al-Assad, who will meet his Russian counterpart,
Dmitry Medvedev, on Thursday.

Such deals would irk Washington and Tel Aviv, which have long asked Moscow not to sell weapons to countries that share borders with the occupied territories.

Reports, however, indicate that Russia is eager to revive its defense ties with Syria following the South Ossetian conflict, in which Georgia used Israeli-supplied equipment.

An Israeli website reported that Moscow plans to deploy advanced missile systems - including the S-300 air-missile defense system as well as the nuclear-capable Iskander missiles - in Syria in the near future.

A Russian official was quoted by Interfax news agency as saying that a number of deals involving anti-aircraft and anti-tank missile systems are being prepared by Russia and Syria.

"Damascus is Moscow's long-standing partner in military cooperation and we are expecting to reach an agreement in principle on new weapons deals," said the source.

The official added that the Syrians are interested in acquiring Russia's Pantsyr-S1 Air Defense Missile systems, BUK-M1 surface-to-air medium-range missile system, military aircraft, and other
hardware.

Russia has condemned both Israel and the US for their role in arming the Georgian military with sophisticated weapons.

Israel claims it has not directly equipped or trained the Georgian military, and private Israeli firms - with the defense ministry's approval- are responsible for such dealings.

Link to this article: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=67094&sectionid=351020206

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Russia sends aircraft carrier to Syria
2008-08-20

The Russian aircraft carrier "Admiral Kuznetsov" is ready to head from Murmansk towards the Mediterranean and the Syrian port of Tartus. The mission comes after Syrian President Bashar Assad said he is open for a Russian base in the area.The "Admiral Kuznetsov", part of the Northern Fleet and Russia's only aircraft carrier, will head a Navy mission to the area. The mission will also include the missile cruiser "Moskva" and several submarines, Newsru.com reports.

President Assad in meetings in Moscow this week expressed support to Russia's intervention in South Ossetia and Georgia. He also expressed interest in the establishment of Russian missile air defence facilities on his land.

The "Admiral Kuznetsov" also last year headed a navy mission to the Mediterranean. Then, on the way from the Kola Peninsula and south, it stopped in the North Sea where it conducted a navy training exercise in the immediate vicinity of Norwegian offshore installations.

Link to this article: http://www.barentsobserver.com/russia-sends-aircraft-carrier-to-syria.45...

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Russia: NATO interference means war

Russia's ambassador to NATO has warned that any military interference in the Caucasus conflict will be considered as declaration of war.

In an interview with the Russian newspaper Vremya Novostei, Dmitry Rogozin, warned that any NATO attack on the Moscow-backed regions would "mean a declaration of war on Russia."

This is while the Russian President Dmitry Medvedev held talks with the Chinese President Hu Jintao in Tajikistan ahead of the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) which is taking place on Thursday.

Medvedev, "informed his Chinese colleague about the situation in South Ossetia and Abkhazia," AFP reported. The two men also discussed regional and international issues.

Russia's Dmitry Medvedev (L) China's Hu Jintao (R)

The SCO is an intergovernmental organization which was founded in 2001 by the leaders of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Iran holds an observer status in the SCO. This year's summit will also be attended by the presidents of the above mentioned nations on August 28.

Link to this article: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=67757&sectionid=351020602

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Russian bombers conduct patrols along South American coast

MOSCOW, September 16 (RIA Novosti) - The two Russian Tu-160 Blackjack strategic bombers that landed in Venezuela last week have successfully carried out a patrol mission along the South American coast, a Russian Air Force spokesman said on Tuesday. (Russian strategic bombers - Image gallery)

"The aircraft took off from the Libertador airbase in Venezuela on Monday and flew along the South American coast toward Brazil," Lt. Col. Vladimir Drik said.

The bombers landed back at the Latin American base after a six-hour flight.

"The flight was performed in strict accordance with international rules on the use of airspace over neutral waters, without violating the borders of other states," the spokesman said.

The Tu-160 Blackjack is a supersonic, variable-geometry heavy bomber, designed to strike strategic targets with nuclear and conventional weapons deep in continental theaters of operation.

According to the spokesman, the bombers are carrying dummy missiles without warheads and their primary mission is to practice patrol sorties in a tropical climate.

Drik earlier said that following the training mission, the Tu-160 crews would meet with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. The bombers are set to leave Venezuela on Thursday and head back to their base in southern Russia.

"The aircraft will take off from an airfield near Caracas on September 18 and conduct a 15-hour return flight to Russia. Their landing at a base in Engels [Saratov Region] is scheduled for September 19," Drik said.

Russia resumed strategic bomber patrol flights over the Pacific, Atlantic and Arctic oceans last August, following an order signed by then-President Vladimir Putin. Russian bombers have since carried out more than 90 strategic patrol flights and have often been escorted by NATO planes.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in mid-August that the Bush administration was unhappy with flights by Russian strategic bombers near U.S. borders and accused Moscow of playing a "dangerous game."

Link to this article: http://en.rian.ru/russia/20080916/116834364.html

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Iraq to import fuel from Iran
Mohammed Dhaher, Azzaman

Iran has agreed to ferry 1 million liters of fuel to Iraq to meet domestic needs for its rickety power plants, Iraqi ambassador to Tehran said.

Mohammed al-Sheikh said the deal under which Iran will furnish Iraq with fuel was signed during the recent visit by Deputy Prime Minister Burhem Saleh to Iran.

Saleh led a large delegation to Tehran comprising high-ranking officials among them the ministers of electricity, trade and foreign affairs.

Sheikh said "more measures" were taken to boost bilateral ties. However he declined to say whether other major deals were signed.

Iran has emerged as Iraq's top trading partner in the five years since the U.S. invasion. Iraqi shops and stores brim with Iranian goods.

Iranian firms are currently the most active in Iraq, implementing projects worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

In another development, Electricity Minister Kareem Waheed has flown to Moscow to urge Russian firms to start building power plants in Iraq, a statement said.

The country has drawn up plans for the construction of several electricity plants but foreign firms are reluctant to send their engineers and technicians to Iraq due to mounting violence.

Waheed will ask the Russians to rehabilitate major power plants their companies had built in Iraq and also offer them the possibility of building new ones, the statement said.

The Russians are keen to execute such projects and have agreed to sign a multi-billion contract for the construction of several plants capable of producing 6000 megawatts, said the statement by the
Electricity Ministry.

Link to this article: http://www.uruknet.de/?p=m46535&hd=&size=1&l=e