Israel to Russia: No arms to Iran, Syria

PARIS, June 17 (UPI) -- Israel's defense minister asked Russia to halt arms sales to Iran and Syria at a meeting with the Russian chief of staff at the Paris Air Show at Le Bourget.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak met Wednesday with Gen. Nikolai Makarov and outlined Israel's current security situation. He also discussed the outcome of elections in Iran and Lebanon, The Jerusalem Post said.

Barak asked that Russia refrain from selling advanced weapons systems to Iran and Syria, saying it would endanger the entire region, the paper said.

Israel is reportedly concerned Russia will sell Iran the S-300 advanced multi-target antiaircraft missile system, said to have the ability to track as many as 100 targets simultaneously, the paper said.

The Post noted Russia recently complied with an Israeli request to halt the sale of advanced MiG-31 fighter jets to Syria. In response, Israel signed a $50 million deal with Russia to supply it with some of its unmanned aerial vehicles, the first Israeli sale of military platforms to Russia, the paper said.