Netanyahu to head to Moscow with 'missile issue' on his plate

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to visit Moscow in a few days, a senior Israeli official confirmed Sunday, dpa reported.

The official would not discuss the reason for the trip, but Israel Radio reported that Netanyahu wants to discuss Moscow's plan to deliver S-300 ground-to-air missiles to Syria.

Russia on Friday defended its delivery of surface-to-air missiles to ally Syria, saying the weapons were for defensive purposes only.

"This is not a breach of any international prohibitions," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in Warsaw, where he met his counterparts from Poland and Germany.

The S-300 missiles provided to the government of President Bashar al-Assad were exclusively for defence against airstrikes, "which as we know is in no way an absurd scenario," Lavrov said.

Russia is the main supplier of weapons to the Syrian regime.

Israeli Energy Minister Silvan Shalom warned Sunday that the delivery would dramatically change the balance of power in the region.

If the missiles do reach Syria, "or worse," the Shiite movement Hezbollah in Lebanon, "we all should lack sleep over that," Shalom told Israel Radio.

The Wall Street Journal on Friday quoted Russian officials as saying that despite Western diplomatic pressure, Moscow plans to press ahead with the earlier contracted arms transfer.

Hezbollah chief Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah said Thursday he was ready "to receive any sort of weaponry, even if it is going to disturb the balance in the region" and vowed to help Damascus "liberate" the Golan Heights, captured by Israel from Syria in 1967.


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