A Change of Guard

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Saturday 13 October 2012

Russia Denies Sending Chemical Weapons to Syria

Russia denies Turkey allegation about arms seized from passenger plane 
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.
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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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