According to the Israelis, Russia fed Syrian President Bashar Assad (seated) false information about an impending Israeli attack.
Photo: AP
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Russia Instigates
They have found the guilty party in the recent mounting tensions with Syria that almost led to another Middle East war this summer. The Israeli Defense Ministry claims that Russia has been supplying Damascus with intelligence information indicating that Israel is preparing for a new war with Syria. Analysts think it was Moscow's attempt to increase weapons sales to the Syrians. In Moscow, they are calling the whole thing nonsense and refusing to comment further. Kommersant's Jerusalem correspondent Grigory Asmolov has the details.
Military reporter for Maariv newspaper Amir Rappoport created the uproar. He learned from Israeli military sources that Russian military and intelligence agencies have been providing Damascus information that there is a high likelihood that Israel will attack Syria. Syrian President Bashar Assad has taken the Russian reports seriously. “It is the actions of the Russians, by all appearances, that are the reason the Syrian leadership put its army on high alert, which, in turn, forced Israel to take responsive measures,” Maariv writes. Military analysts say that the escalation of tensions made the possibility of a new war entirely real.
The Israeli media reported at the beginning of the summer that the Syrian Army was taking exceptional measures that could only be interpreted as urgent preparations for war. Those were purchases of larges lots of weapons, massive military exercises, engineering work to strengthen fortifications in the areas of the Golan Heights bordering on Israel and the placement of short-range missile installations there. The Israeli Army took responsive measures, fortifying its positions on its side of the border and conducting military exercises based on a scenario of war with Syria. Both sides set themselves of the goal of full preparedness for war by July. Tensions eased only in recent days after Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Damascus made statements that they do not intend to start a military actions. To back up their words, the Israeli moved their large military exercises from the Golan Heights to the south of the country.
The information in Maariv that Moscow in essence provoke a conflict could be regarded as sensationalism.
However, several hours after the scandalous publication yesterday, it received official confirmation from one of the main figures in Israeli security, retired general Amos Gilad, the Defense Ministry's chief official for diplomatic affairs. Gilad, formerly head of the research section of the army intelligence department, is considered central to all strategic defense decisions. “At a certain period, Russia did indeed contribute to Syria's belief that Israel had aggressive intentions,” he told the military radio station Galei Tzahal. He said that Israel has demanded if Moscow that it stop its incitement. “I think that they [the Russians] have stopped doing that,” he said. A little later, the general softened his tone, saying that Russia was not “the main element in the informing and incitement” of Damascus.
Aside from Gilad, no Israeli officials commented on the story. Israeli experts think that Russia's actions were motivated by the desire to increase arms sales to Syria. They frightened Assad with an impending war with Israel to force him into large military acquisitions.
Moscow considers those accusations contrived. The press service of the Russian Defense Ministry said that it was aware of the Israeli statements and did not intend to respond to them. “Commenting on the official statements of officials of foreign states is the prerogative of the Foreign Ministry,” a spokesman told Kommersant. The Russian Foreign Ministry said that diplomats would not comment on the “silliness” so as not to attract additional attention to it.
In Israel, they are wondering how the story that has caused a crisis in relations with Russia made it into the press. In that country, any sensitive information that could damage national security is subject to censorship. At one time, Israeli censors forbade the publication of information about the sale of Russian air defense systems to Damascus. Some experts are suggesting that opponents of closer relations with Russia leaked the information to the press. Israel's recent decision to ease the visa regime for Russians entering the country, which can be considered a serious step in the countries' relations, may have led them to take action.
Grigory Asmolov, Jerusalem
All the Article in Russian as of Aug. 31, 2007
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