BEIRUT — Syrian President Bashar al-Assad vowed Thursday to complete the purchase from Russia of long-range S-300 air defense missiles, striking another blow to the prospect of peace talks as the opposition announced it would not attend.
In an interview with al-Manar television, a mouthpiece for Lebanon's Shiite militant movement Hezbollah, Assad hinted that the first shipment of the advanced surface-to-air missiles may have already been delivered. When asked specifically where the shipment was, he said: "Everything we agreed upon with Russia will be done, and a part [of those contracts] have already been completed lately. We and the Russians will continue to fulfill these contracts."
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The purported shipment comes as outside powers are stepping up their support to both sides in Syria's grinding civil war. Russia has reiterated its commitment to send the S-300 missiles since the European Union decided this week to allow its arms embargo on Syria to lapse, paving the way for Britain and France to send weapons to rebels fighting to oust Assad.
At the same time, the United States and Russia are trying to bring both sides to the negotiating table in Geneva. But the civil war has grown increasingly intractable, and positions are hardening.
Underscoring that point, the Syrian opposition announced Thursday that it would not attend the negotiations while rebels remain under siege from a joint offensive by the Syrian Army and Hezbollah on the rebel-held town of Qusair near the Lebanese border.
"The National Coalition will not take part in any international conference or any such efforts so long as the militias of Iran and Hezbollah continue their invasion of Syria," George Sabra, the acting head of the coalition, told reporters in Istanbul.
The announcement marked a setback for the United States, which has been leading efforts to get the fractured Syrian opposition to the negotiating table. The coalition had said earlier that it would attend only if negotiations took place under a framework that led to Assad's departure from power.
In the interview with al-Manar, Assad confirmed that Hezbollah is fighting alongside his forces in Qusair. He said the Lebanese Shiite group it is doing so because of the involvement in the conflict of Israel, Hezbollah's longstanding enemy.
Israel has carried out several airstrikes in Syria in recent months on targets including a weapons convoy purported to be transferring weapons to Hezbollah. The presence of S-300 missiles, one of the most advanced surface-to-air missile systems in the world, would threaten Israel's ability to carry out similar operations in the future.
The presence of the surface-to-air missiles in the region would also raise fears in Tel Aviv that the technology could be passed to Hezbollah.
Israeli officials have indicated that they would take action to ensure that the missile system, which has a range of around 130 miles — the distance from Damascus to Tel Aviv — does not become operational. Military experts in Israel were skeptical that a shipment had already arrived.
31 May, 2013
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Source: http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNEuuH6oPAC37plRBhSz54Wdyzqzpw&url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/bashar-al-assad-says-syria-has-received-missiles-from-russia/2013/05/30/01c6ba04-c930-11e2-8da7-d274bc611a47_story.html
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