EILAND REQUESTS USG PRESSURE TO STOP RUSSIA-SYRIA

S E C R E T TEL AVIV 005796 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/23/2015 TAGS: PREL PARM SY IS GOI EXTERNAL MILITARY RELATIONS SUBJECT: EILAND REQUESTS USG PRESSURE TO STOP RUSSIA-SYRIA MISSILE DEAL Classified By: Ambassador Richard H. Jones for Reasons 1.4 (B) and (D). ¶1. (S) National Security Advisor Giora Eiland contacted the Ambassador September 23 to seek USG pressure on the Russian government to stop what he said is a possibly imminent agreement to sell Pantsir ground-to-air missiles to Syria. Eiland said the deal could be signed as early as next week during the Syrian chief of staff's visit to Moscow. He described the Pantsir deal as being worth tens of millions of dollars and said it could be the first in a series of deals including air-to-air and ground-to-ground missile systems. The Ambassador agreed to convey Eiland's concern. ¶2. (S) Eiland described the Panstir as being medium-range or 30-kilometer range. Information available to post describes the system as a combination gun-missile system featuring two twin-barrelled 30-millimeter cannons, 1,400 rounds of ammunition, and 12 ready-to-fire missiles on a wheeled chassis. It appeared in the late '90s and is designed for point defense against a wide variety of modern air targets, from UAVs to cruise missiles. ¶3. (S) Eiland said that he would be in Moscow Sunday for periodic talks with Igor Ivanov and stressed that no one should misinterpret the coincidence of his presence there at the same time as the Syrians to speculate on talks between the two. ********************************************* ******************** Visit Embassy Tel Aviv's Classified Website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/telaviv You can also access this site through the State Department's Classified SIPRNET website. ********************************************* ******************** JONES