Last update - 00:00 06/09/2006
Peres: Moscow asked Syria to explain why Hezbollah had Russian missiles
By The Associated Press
Vice Premier Shimon Peres said in an interview broadcast in Russia on Wednesday that despite Russian officials' claims that no Russian-made weapons were used by Hezbollah during the war, Israeli authorities were aware that Russia had asked Syria to explain how the weapons came into Hezbollah's possession.
Peres told Ekho Moskvy radio that Hezbollah militants had used Russian-made weapons against Israel during the fighting in south Lebanon in July and August, despite Russia's denial.
"We saw these weapons, they had certain markings," Peres said. "As far as we know, the Russians demanded explanations from Syria."
Last month, a senior delegation went to Moscow to complain that Hezbollah guerrillas had used Russian-made anti-tank missiles in their 34-day conflict with Israeli forces in Lebanon.
The officials said that Iran and Syria had passed the anti-tank missiles to Hezbollah after buying them from Russia.
The Fagot and Kornet anti-tank missiles proved to be among Hezbollah's most effective weapons in combat, killing many of the 118 Israel Defense Froces soldiers who died in combat.
Russian officials had rejected the allegations, saying that Moscow has maintained strict controls over its weapons sales to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said last month that Israel had provided no evidence that Hezbollah had used the Russian-designed missiles.
Ruslan Pukhov, the head of the Moscow-based Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, said that it was unlikely that Hezbollah had any significant numbers of the sophisticated missiles, which are capable of piercing the thick, multi-layer armor of the IDF's Merkava tanks. The think-tank monitors Russia's global arms trade.
"Even if Hezbollah indeed got any of these weapons, they only could have got several pieces," he told The Associated Press. "Syria has few modern weapons and wouldn't scatter them around."