Big News Network.com
Friday 12th October, 2012
MOSCOW/ANKARA - Russia's state-owned arms dealer Friday
denied Turkey allegations that its weapons were found on board a Syrian
plane en route from Moscow to Damascus.
The Syrian Air Airbus A320 was forced by Turkish F-16 fighter jets to
land in Ankara Thursday, triggering a major diplomatic row between the
estranged neighbours that also involves Russia, which was accused of
sending weapons to Syrian armed forces in violation of international
regulations.
The plane had taken off from Moscow's Vnukovo international airport and had about 30 passengers onboard.
Turkey Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan immediately said that the
plane was carrying Russian-made defence equipment destined for Syria's
defence ministry.
"The sender and the recipient were clear Passenger planes cannot
transport such ammunition or defence equipment," Erdogan said in
televised comments, adding that the weapons had been sent by a Russian
arms manufacturing agency.
But a spokesperson for state arms trader Rosoboronexport told
official RIA Novosti news agency that the firm had no connection to the
"illegal" military items removed from the aircraft.
"We have no information available about the contents or ownership of
any cargo," said Vyacheslav Davidenko, the Rosoboronexport spokesperson.
"All cargo transport operations by us involving military equipment
are always made in accordance with international agreements and Russian
law," he said.
As the dispute between Russia and Turkey got deeper, Moscow is said
to have demanded more details about the impounded arms from the
aircraft, a Russian media report said Friday.
Kommersant, a popular Russian daily, quoting an unnamed Russian
official said the cargo impounded by Turkey on board had not been arms
but air defence components.
The daily said the seized items were technical components for Syrian
air defense radars which did not require special certification as
military items.
The aircraft contained 12 crates of air defence components to be used in Syria's radar systems.
The cargo had proper documentation and was a legal shipment as per the Russian legislation, the official said.
The newspaper reported that Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB)
would begin investigating into whether a leak that led to the discovery
of the Damascus-bound cargo had come from inside Russia.
Turkey officials said Thursday that the interception of the suspected
aircraft shipping weapons was the result of an intelligence tip-off.
In a related development, Syria has accused Turkey of lying over the arms seizure.
Syria's foreign ministry said the Turkish premier was trying "to justify his government's hostile attitude towards Syria".
"The plane's cargo was documented in detail on the bill of lading and
the plane did not carry any illegal material or any weapons," the
ministry said, according to Syria's SANA state news agency.
The ministry asked Erdogan to "show the equipment and ammunition at least to his people".
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MOSCOW, August 21 (RIA Novosti)
Syria has no Russian-made chemical weapons stockpile, Deputy Director
of the Federal Agency for Safe Storage and Destruction of Chemical
Weapons Col. Vladimir Mandych said on Tuesday.
“Syria is one of the countries that did not sign the chemical weapons
convention… As far as I know, no Russian-made chemical weapons have
ever been supplied to Syria,” Mandych told journalists.
U.S. President Barack Obama said on Monday Syria’s chemical weapons
would be a “red line” that would change Washington’s stance on a foreign
military intervention into the Syrian conflict.
He said that "at this point” he had “not ordered military engagement."
The Syrian Foreign Ministry said in late July that Syria may use chemical weapons against external aggression
as the West pushes for a possible military intervention in the country
torn by violent clashes between troops loyal to President Bashar
Al-Assad and opposition forces.
The Syrian stockpiles of chemical weapons are believed to consist
mostly of large amounts of Sarin, in addition to tabun (nerve agents)
and mustard gas, and the country is reportedly producing and preparing
VX for weapons.
-----------------------------------
Russian arms exporters deny sending weapons to Syria
MOSCOW, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- Russian arms exporter on Friday denied
sending weapons to Damascus via a Syrian passenger plane which was
forced to land in the Turkish capital of Ankara.
Russian arms exporter Rosoboronexport said it supplied
military-purpose products "in strict accordance with the international
legal regulations and the Russian legislation," Rosoboronexport press
officer Vyacheslav Davidenko told local media.
Rosoboronexport denied it has any cargo on the flight and has no
information about the "contents or ownership of any cargo," Davidenko
added.
Meanwhile, Russia's federal service for military-technical
cooperation (FSVTS), a federal agency supervising the country's
international military cooperation, claimed it has no relation with the
cargo onboard the plane.
"These cargoes did not go via the FSVTS, so there is nothing to
comment on," FSVTS representative Andrei Tarabrin told reporters here.
The Damascus-bound plane, carrying a total of 35 passengers aboard,
was forced to land in Ankara on Wednesday over intelligence of
"non-civilian cargo."
According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, Russian diplomats had
arrived in Ankara for consular supports to the Russian nationals, but
they were denied access.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Thursday the Syrian
plane was carrying Russian-made munitions destined for Syria's defense
ministry.
Both Rosoboronexport and FSVTS refused to comment on the Turkish
prime minister's statement, while confirming the plane was not shipping
their products to Syria.
The Syrian Foreign Ministry on Thursday refuted as "absolutely untrue" the allegations made by the Turkish government.
Editor:
Lu Hui
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