Israel warns of attack if Russia air defences used in Syria
Israel's Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman said on 24 April that his country would attack Russian S-300 air defence systems in Syria if they were used against Israeli targets.
His remarks came a day after the Russian newspaper Kommersant reported that Moscow could soon start to deliver S-300 systems to its ally Damascus, and cited a source as warning of ‘catastrophic’ consequences if they were attacked.
‘What is important to us is that the defensive weapons the Russians are giving Syria will not be used against us,’ Lieberman told the news website Ynet.
‘If they are used against us, we will act against them.’
According to Kommersant, Russia and Syria signed an accord in 2010 for the S-300 system but the missiles have not been delivered because of Israeli pressure.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in early April that no decision had yet been taken on the S-300 missiles.
The Russians have deployed the S-300 around their own Tartus naval base on Syria's Mediterranean coast and the more advanced S-400 at their Hmeimim air base in western Syria.
‘We have an open line; we really do have discourse’ with the Russians, said Lieberman, noting that their systems had never been used against Israel.
‘For several years we have been constantly in coordination and able to avoid friction with the Russians.’
Israel and Syria are still technically at war, though the armistice line on the sector of the Golan Heights which the Jewish state seized from its Arab neighbour in 1967 was largely quiet for decades until the Syrian civil war broke out in 2011.
The Israeli side of the Golan has since seen regular spillover fire, and Israel has carried out dozens of air strikes on Syrian armed forces and their allies.
Israel says its strikes aim to stop advanced weapons deliveries to Hezbollah, a Lebanese armed group allied to the Syrian government and with which the Jewish state fought a devastating war in 2006.
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
You may also like
More from Defence Notes
-
![Top-level commitments but no meat in UK Defence Industrial Strategy’s Statement of Intent]()
Top-level commitments but no meat in UK Defence Industrial Strategy’s Statement of Intent
The initial document focused more on creating the right partnerships and inspiring investment in defence than on any details of how future UK Armed Forces would be armed.
-
![UK begins process on new industrial strategy]()
UK begins process on new industrial strategy
The first stage of developing a new UK Defence Industrial Strategy has highlighted failings in current structures with solutions expected to be proposed in next year’s full strategy.
-
![Romanians put pro-Russian candidate into presidential runoff even as the government spends west]()
Romanians put pro-Russian candidate into presidential runoff even as the government spends west
Romania joined NATO more than two decades ago and the country is vital to the alliance’s geographic reach and its ability to supply Ukraine with weapons.
-
![What the future holds for Ukraine and NATO under a Trump administration]()
What the future holds for Ukraine and NATO under a Trump administration
Although Trump’s geopolitics policy for Europe remains unclear, defence analysts from the US and Europe predict how his incoming administration would attempt to handle critical issues on the continent.
-
![RUSI deputy: UK needs longer procurement plans and improved awareness of US sift to Indo-Pacific]()
RUSI deputy: UK needs longer procurement plans and improved awareness of US sift to Indo-Pacific
The UK budget announced in Parliament on 30 October was the first by a Labour government in 14 years which has also launched a review into defence procurement programmes.
-
![Australia outlines longer punch and brings local industry onboard]()
Australia outlines longer punch and brings local industry onboard
The Australian government has placed a focus on Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance (GWEO) which has included the purchase of additional long-range rocket systems and investments in local production of missiles.
