Russia to force military action on Iran?
Prime Minister Netanyahu traveled to Russia on Sunday to, among other things, try to convince the Russians not to deliver S-300 anti-missile systems to Iran. The S-300 would make an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities much more complicated. But the Russians, who have seemed more flexible on sanctions lately, seem to be doing whatever they can to ensure that the sanctions won't work. Netanyahu was expected to try to persuade Russian leaders to implement sanctions against Tehran, and to receive assurances that the Kremlin is committed to freeze its supply of advanced S-300 surface-to-air missiles to Iran.
But Russia said Sunday that it saw no reason to stall on the sale.
"There is a signed contract (to supply S-300 missiles) which we must implement, but deliveries have not started yet," Vladimir Nazarov, deputy secretary of Russia's Security Council secretary, told Interfax news agency in an interview.
"This deal is not restricted by any international sanctions, because the talk is about deliveries of an exclusively defensive weapon," he said.
Nazarov also said a military strike on Iran would be a big mistake and that the problems linked to Iran's nuclear program must be resolved only by diplomatic means.
"Any military action against Iran will explode the situation, will have extremely negative consequnces for the entire world, including for Russia, which is a neighbor of Iran," he said.
Russia is believed to support sanctions targeting governmental bodies directly involved in Iran's nuclear program, but not those aimed at striking the country's economy as a whole.
What could go wrong?
Israel Matzav: Russia to force military action on Iran?
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment