Israel's Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Sunday blasted Russia for supplying advanced arms to Syria, saying the new deal did not help attempts to bring peace to the region. "The sale of these weapons does not contribute to building an atmosphere of peace," Lieberman told Israel's public radio.
Lieberman's comments came days after a top Russian military official said his country was supplying Syria with MiG-29 fighter jets, Pantsir short-range air defence systems and armoured vehicles.
The Israeli minister also said the regime of Bashar al-Assad was not interested in peace, and described as "naive" anyone who believed Syria would be ready "to cut ties with Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah militia" in exchange for a return of the Golan Heights.
Lieberman also slammed Russia's "hypocritical" stance on terrorism after Russian President Dmitry Medvedev held talks with Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal during last week's visit to Damascus."Russia, but also Egypt and Turkey as well as other countries, have a policy of differentiating between 'good' and 'bad' terrorism, between that which targets Israel and that which targets others," Lieberman stated.
"We will not accept any ultimatum with regard to Hamas, and we won't let this movement take part in any peace process," he said.
