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| Image of the Kornet missile set up on its tripod |
Says it might
also deliver Kornet missiles to all Kurds to fight Turkey
Syria has again made clear it would use its deadly
chemical and biological weapons if it were attacked by outside Arab, Turkish or
Western forces.
Damascus is also serving notice it would provide a
Russian-made Kornet
anti-tank guided missile to every Turkish and Syrian Kurd to fight Turkey
in case it openly intervened militarily in Syria.
Hezbollah, which is Syria and Iran’s cat’s-paw in
Lebanon, relayed the double-barreled Syrian forewarning on its Al-Manar
portal this morning.
The new caution follows Russian Foreign Minister
Sergei Lavrov’s revelation in his interview with U.S. journalist Charles Rose
broadcast on Thursday that Moscow helped broker American-Syrian contacts on
security issues related to Damascus’ chemical and biological stockpiles.
“I hope that I disclose no big secret by saying that
we [Russians] were helping American experts to come into contact with Syrians
on this issue, and that we got explanations and assurances that the Syrian
government safeguards these facilities with chemical weapons in the best way,”
Lavrov said in the interview.
Syrians have moved some
of their chemical weapons capability to better secure it, but the country’s
main chemical weapons sites remain intact and secure under government control,
U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said the day after, citing U.S.
intelligence.
“There has been some
intelligence that with regards to some of these sites that there has been some
movement in order for the Syrians to better secure ... the chemicals,” Panetta
told a Pentagon news conference with his Canadian counterpart, according to
Reuters. “So while there’s been some limited movement, again the major sites
still remain in place, still remain secure.”
“We
still believe, based on what we know and what we’re monitoring, that the
principal sites remain secure,” he said.
Syria’s
chemical weapons stockpile is the largest in the Middle East, but its precise
scope remains unclear, according to analysts.
The
regime said in July it might use its chemical weapons if attacked by outside
countries, although not against its own people.
Here
is how Hezbollah relayed this morning the Syrian regime’s warning:
“The
U.S. delegation to the 67th session of the UN General Assembly sought to contact
the Syrian delegation through Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Arab
sources in France told al-Manar the United States wanted to discuss the weapons
of mass destruction in Syria’s possession.
“According
to the sources, the Syrians gave assurances, endorsed by Russia, that chemical
and biological weapons won’t be used under any circumstances in Syria in the
course of the ongoing fighting between the Syrian state and the armed
opposition, which is backed by the United States directly and through its Arab
and Turkish allies in the region.
“The
Arab sources said the Syrian delegation reiterated the weapons in question are
secure and safe and won’t be used except if Syria faced outside military
intervention. Only in such a case would the countries inciting and
participating in any kind of aggression against Damascus become a legitimate
target for Syrian missiles with chemical and biological warheads, including
unspecified countries neighboring Syria.
“The
Arab sources said Turkey and Israel were in the gunsight of unconventional
Syrian missiles in the event the Syrian Arab Republic confronted outside
military intervention as proposed by Qatar’s Emir at the United Nations and
backed up as expected by Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby.
“In
the same context, Syrian Kurdish sources close to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party
(PKK) and its Syrian offshoot, the Democratic Union Party (PYD), said Syria notified
Turkey of the following: any Turkish meddling in Syria -- now at the stage of
direct military intervention across the border and in Idlib -- will push Syria
to arm every Kurd in Turkey and Syria with a missile. The Kurdish source said
Syria is seriously tending to provide the Kurds with heavy and advanced
weapons, such as Kornet missiles the Kurds need for their war against Turkey. Delivering
such military hardware to the PKK would change the face of the conflict in the Qandil Mountains.”
