MOSCOW - Russia's MiG aircraft maker said Friday it plans to sign a new agreement to ship atleast 10 fighter jets to Syria, a move that comes amid international criticism of earlier Russianweapons deals with Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime.
MiG's director general, Sergei Korotkov, said a Syrian delegation was in Moscow to discuss thedetails of a new contract for the delivery of MiG-29 M/M2 fighters. In remarks carried byRussian news agencies, he said Syria wants to buy "more than 10" such fighters, but wouldn'tgive the exact number.
The significance of his comments was unclear. A MiG spokesman wouldn't comment onKorotkov's statement, and the MiG chief could be referring to a deal the company previouslynegotiated with Syria that apparently has been put on hold amid Syria's brutal two-year civilwar.
More than 70,000 people have died in the fighting and millions of Syrians have fled the country.
Moscow has shipped billions of dollars' worth of missiles, combat jets, tanks, artillery and othermilitary gear to Syria over more than four decades. Syria now is Russia's last remaining ally inthe Middle East and hosts the only naval base Moscow has outside the former Soviet Union.
Russia has shielded Assad from UN sanctions and has continued to provide his regime withweapons despite the uprising against him that began in March 2011.
Russian media reports say Syria placed an order a few years ago for 12 MiG-29 M2 fighterswith an option of buying another 12. The Stockholm Peace Research Institute also hasreported that Russia planned to provide Syria with 24 of the aircraft.
The MiG-29 M2 is an advanced version of the MiG-29 twin-engine fighter jet, which has been amainstay of the Soviet and Russian air force since mid-1980s. Syria had about 20 fighters ofthe original make among scores of other Soviet- and Russian-built aircraft.
Russia has said it's only providing Assad with weapons intended to protect Syria from a foreigninvasion, such as air defense missile systems, and is not delivering weapons that could beused in the civil war.
But the delivery of MiGs would contradict that claim and expose Russia to global criticism, sothe Kremlin might think twice before giving the go-ahead.
Another recent Russian jet deal with Damascus, a contract to deliver Yak-130 combat trainingjets that could also be used for ground attacks, apparently has been put on hold amid the civilwar.
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