Russia Warns KSA against Supplying Syria Armed Groups with Missiles

Local Editor

Russia on Tuesday warned Saudi Arabia against supplying Syrian armed groups with shoulder-launched missile launchers, saying such a move would endanger security across the Middle East and beyond.

The Russian foreign ministry said in a statement that it was "deeply concerned" by news reports that Saudi Arabia was planning to buy Pakistani-made shoulder-launched surface-to-air missiles and anti-tank systems for armed Syrian rebels based in Jordan.

It said that "the aim was to alter the balance of power in a planned spring offensive by armed groups on the regime of President Bashar al-Assad."
"If this sensitive weapon falls into the hands of extremists and terrorists who have flooded Syria, there is a great probability that in the end it will be used far from the borders of this Middle Eastern country," the foreign ministry said.

The second report this month that these weapons will be given to the armed groups was published by AFP news agency over the weekend, and was indirectly confirmed up by several recent developments.

The Western-backed Syrian opposition chief Ahmad Jarba promised that "powerful arms will be arriving soon" to armed groups units. Meanwhile, his principal backers hosted Pakistan's army Chief of Staff, General Raheel Sharif in Riyadh earlier this month. Pakistan makes versions of both types of weapons, and has been earmarked as the supplier by Saudi officials, according to the source.

Riyadh has long insisted that armed groups should be armed with these fearsome portable launchers, which are key to fighting a Syrian army that has air superiority and far more armored vehicles.

According to the report, Jordan will be providing facilities to store the weapons before the delivery to Syria. Jordan's territory is also being used by "by specialists from the Central Intelligence Agency" to train Syrian fighters, according to the so-called "Syrian National Coalition's" representative in the US, Najib Al-Ghadban. Jordanian officials however denied this claim.

"These developments trigger concerns that the militants are preparing to open a new "southern" battlefield in the coming months," the Russian ministry warned.
"The Syrian conflict cannot be solved by force, and we ask all those considering the military option to reconsider, and allow the Syrians to reach a peaceful agreement within the parameters of Geneva, and without outside interference," said the Russian statement.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team