Russia's arms export monopoly dismissed on Tuesday reports that it plans to supply fighter jets to Syria and Iran. "Russia has no plans to deliver fighter jets to Syria and Iran," Rosoboronexport CEO Sergei Chemezov told journalists at Le Bourget air show near Paris.

Chemezov said that if any such deal does come under discussion, the media will be informed.

His remarks came in response to a report by Russian business daily Kommersant, which said Rosoboronexport began the delivery of five heavy twin-engined interceptor fighters MiG-31E to Syria, under a deal negotiated during President Bashar Assad's trip to Moscow last fall.

Designed in the 1980s to target low-flying cruise missiles, the aircraft is capable of flying at nearly three times the speed of sound and simultaneously shooting several targets at ranges of up to 180 kilometers (more than 110 miles).

The paper also said Russia had agreed to supply Syria with an unspecified number of MiG-29M fighters.

The purchase of sophisticated MiG fighters would dramatically improve the air force capability of the two Mideast countries, seen by Israel and the United States as a potential threat to their national security.

Russia suspended its arms supplies to the Middle East following last year's conflict in Lebanon.

Israel claimed that during the 34-day war, Hezbollah fighters attacked Israeli targets with Russian-made missiles, which they had allegedly obtained from backers in Syria and Iran.

earlier related report

Russia Begins Delivering Warplanes To Syria

Moscow (AFP) June 19 – Russia has begun delivering five MiG-31E interceptors to Syria as part of an agreement concluded earlier this year, the Kommersant daily newspaper reported Tuesday. Moscow also plans to sell Damascus its MiG-29M/M2 dual role fighters in a deal worth about one billion dollars (750 million euros), the paper said.

The sales could be advantageous for Iran, which has a joint defence treaty with Syria, Kommersant added.

However, the head of Rosoboronexport, the main public Russian firm charged with exporting weapons, denied the reports.

"There are no plans to deliver fighters to Syria and Iran," Sergei Chemezov said from the Paris Air Show, according to Interfax news agency.

Mikhail Kamynin, the spokesman for the foreign ministry, also stressed that Russia's arms policy confirmed to international law.

"All our contracts in the area of military-technical cooperation conform to international law and to Russia's agreements," he said, cited by Interfax.

But a lawmaker from Israel's right-wing opposition Likud party said the Jewish state was concerned about the reports, which follow alarmist reports in the Israeli media that a war with Syria could erupt as early as this summer.

"This information is more concerning when put in the context of massive armaments purchases made recently by the Syrians," Yuval Steinitz was quoted as telling the top selling Yediot Aharonot daily.

"If Syria acquires the MiG-31 we can no longer rule out the idea that this country is preparing for war," said Steinitz, a former chairman of Israel's defence and foreign affairs parliamentary committee.

Last month Russia denied a report by Jane's Defence Weekly that Syria had agreed to send Iran at least 10 air defence systems that Damascus is buying from Russia.

Citing a source close to the deal, Jane's said Moscow had agreed to sell Damascus some 50 Pantsyr-S1E self-propelled short-range missile air defence systems for an estimated 730 million dollars (545 million euros).

Russia was criticized by Israel and the United States for agreeing to supply Iran with the Tor-M1 surface-to-air missile system in 2005, a deal completed in January.

earlier related report

Russian fighter planes sale to Syria alarms Israel

Jerusalem (AFP) June 19 – Israel is concerned about reported Russian deliveries of advanced MiG-31 fighter planes to its enemy Syria as part of an armaments drive, the top-selling Hebrew daily reported on Tuesday.

The MiG-31, considered one of the best fighters in the world, can carry guided missiles with a range of more than 200 kilometres (125 miles) and is capable of striking 24 different targets simultaneously, Yediot Aharonot said.

"This information is more concerning when put in the context of massive armaments purchases made recently by the Syrians," Yuval Steinitz, an MP from Israel's right-wing opposition Likud party, was quoted as telling the daily.

"If Syria acquires the MiG-31 we can no longer rule out the idea that this country is preparing for war," said Steinitz, a former chairman of Israel's defence and foreign affairs parliamentary committee.

A Russian newspaper reported on Tuesday that Russia has begun delivering five MiG-31E interceptors to Syria as part of an agreement reached this year, and that Moscow also plans to sell Damascus its MiG-29M/M2 dual role fighters.

The Israeli media has recently carried alarmist reports that a war with Syria could erupt as early as this summer, following Israeli intelligence reports that Damascus was preparing for such a conflict.

Two Israeli cabinet ministers have confirmed, however, that the government has approached Syria about the possibility of renewing peace talks.

Peace talks between Israel and Syria collapsed in 2000, mainly because of a dispute over the return of the strategic Golan Heights, which the Jewish state captured in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and annexed in 1981.

Source: RIA Novosti

Source: Agence France-Presse