RUSSIAN RESPONSE TO ATGM TRANSFER TO SYRIA

S E C R E T MOSCOW 011833

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/20/2016
TAGS: PREL PARM ETTC RS SY IS
SUBJECT: RUSSIAN RESPONSE TO ATGM TRANSFER TO SYRIA

REF: A. MOSCOW 9468

B. MOSCOW 9244

C. STATE 139267

Classified By: DCM Daniel A. Russell. Reasons 1.4 (B/D).


1. (S) SUMMARY: Russia's investigation into the transfer of
anti-tank guided missiles to Syria has confirmed that some
Russian-made weapons had been funneled to Hizballah. As a
result, the head of the Tula design bureau responsible for
the transfer has been fired, and the Foreign Ministry has
been held responsible for the failure to disseminate Putin's
August 18 decision to halt a planned shipment to Syria. The
Russian Government has officially informed Syria of its
intent to carry out stricter end-use control checks. END
SUMMARY.


2. (S) Sergey Petlyakov, Chief Counselor in the Arms and
Technology Transfer Division of the Foreign Ministry's
Department for Security Affairs and Disarmament, gave us an
update October 19 of the GOR's investigation into the
transfer of anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs) to Syria
(reftels). Petlyakov said Moscow shared U.S. concerns about
the proliferation of sensitive weapons systems to
unauthorized end users. In the case of the August 19
transfer of ATGMs to Damascus, he told us the delivery had
been an unfortunate mistake that stemmed from a failure to
disseminate throughout all elements of the bureaucracy
President Putin's August 18 decision to halt the shipment.
Petlyakov stated that the head of the Tula Design Bureau of
Instrument Building, which was involved in the shipment, had
been replaced. The Foreign Ministry has been held
responsible for failing to disseminate Putin's instructions
adequately.


3. (S) According to Petlyakov, an interagency team traveled
to Syria, where they visited weapons storage sites and met
with officers responsible for ensuring the proper end-use of
weapons systems. The team discovered that some Russian-made
weapons had indeed been funneled to Hizballah, attributing
the leakage to corrupt Syrian military officers. Petlyakov
noted, however, that the team learned that Hizballah members
had used a variety of weapons systems -- not just Russian --
during the summer conflict in Lebanon, which they had
probably obtained illegally. As a result of the team's
intervention, Petlyakov said several Syrians had been
punished, and the GOR officially informed the SARG of
Moscow's intention to exercise more aggressively its right to
check on the end-use of Russian weapons systems. It would
not be "business as usual," Petlyakov emphasized, adding that
stricter end-use control was also in Russia's interest.


4. (C) Asked about tighter export controls in general,
Petlyakov confirmed that Moscow had recently strengthened the
rules, with the aim of improving interagency coordination and
outlining specific responsibilities. The new implementing
instructions went into effect October 6 and were officially
published October 11. They are still based on Russia's
fundamental arms export control regime, which is Presidential
Decree 1062, signed September 10, 2005.


5. (C) COMMENT: Russia's investigation and follow-up action
on the ATGM transfer are a serious response to concerns
raised by the U.S. and Israel. Russia, however, obviously
plans to continue weapons sales to Syria, albeit hopefully
with stricter end-use controls.
BURNS