SyriaIsrael warns: if S-300 missiles arrive in Syria, Israel will “prevent” them from becoming operational
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that if Russia went ahead with its planned sale of advanced S-300 air defense missiles to Syria, and these systems became operational, then Israel’s “entire airspace will become a no-fly zone.” Netanyahu warned that the threat was such that Israel “cannot stand idly by.”
A short demonstration of the Russian S-300 air defense system // Source: russiadefence via youtube.com
Gen. (Ret.) Yaakov Amidror, Israel’s National Security Adviser, in a behind-closed-doors presentation to the twenty-seven ambassadors to Israel of the EU member states, clarified Israel’s position on the issue of Russia’s Monday announcement that it was planning to sell advanced S-300 air defense systems to Syria.
Haaretz reports that two diplomats who attended the presentation, and who spoke to the paper’s reporter on condition of anonymity, said that Amidror stressed Israel will act “to prevent the S-300 missiles from becoming operational” on Syrian soil.
Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon made a similar point on Tuesday, saying that if the missiles were to reach Syria, “Israel would know what to do.”
The diplomats told Haaretz that Amidror said that Israel believed that sooner or later Russia will supply the advanced air-defense systems to Syria – but for reasons that had to do more with Russia’s regional competition with the United States, Britain, and France than with Israel.
“We understood from Amidror that the Israeli government thinks the missile transfer cannot be prevented, therefore it will act against them after the transfer but before they become operational,” one of the diplomats said.
The S-300 advanced technology means that it typically takes between three to six months to make the system operational. Syrian crews may be flown to Russia for training, but turning the system operation would have to be done in Syria.
The efforts by Israel and other countries to dissuade Russia from selling the systems to Syria appear to have failed.
Last week Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu flew to Moscow for a face-to-face meeting with Vladimir Putin, but Putin made it clear to Netanyahu that Russia would go ahead with the sale.
The Guardian reported yesterday (Wednesday) that a delegation of high-level Israeli intelligence officials arrived in Moscow on Tuesday for more talks about the S-300 with senior Russian government officials.
“If the missiles are provided [to Syria] and become operational, Israel’s entire airspace will become a no-fly zone,” Netanyahu is reported to have told European foreign ministers in a closed meeting. “The missile transfer is a significant security challenge to Israel and we will not be able to stand idly by.”
In his meeting with the EU ambassadors, Amidror made it clear that Israel was not taking sides in the Syrian conflict.
“We are not interested in intervening or influencing the situation inside Syria,” Amidror said. “We will only act when needed to protect our security, and thus we will prevent in the future the transfer of advanced weapons to Hezbollah.”
One of the diplomats who spoke with Haaretz said Amidror concluded by saying that for Israel, the strategic issue is weakening Hezbollah and Iran, and that Israel’s policies are determined accordingly.
