Israel to press Russia on arms sales to Iran, Syria

Source: Reuters

TEL AVIV, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will press Russia during a visit starting on Monday not to sell advanced missiles and weapons technology to Iran and Syria.

Addressing his cabinet on the eve of the two-day trip, Olmert said he would discuss issues of "special, immediate concern" including the supply of weapons to "irresponsible elements".

Olmert, caretaker prime minister until a new government is formed following his resignation last month in a corruption scandal, meets Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov later on Monday.
Israeli defence sources, revising earlier statements that a deal between Moscow and Tehran was imminent, said on Sunday Iran had not received Russia's advanced S-300 anti-aircraft system yet though the countries were still discussing a purchase.

The S-300 would help Iran fend off any Israeli or U.S. air strike against its nuclear facilities. Analysts believe a purchase of the system by the Iranians could accelerate the countdown to military action designed to deny them the bomb.

Russia has denied intending to sell Iran the S-300, the best version of which can track 100 targets and fire on planes 120 km (75 miles) away...>



Read more: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L6279670.htm

Russia will listen politely and ignore Israel.

I think some of this is about Israel's role in arming Georgia..but beneath all that it's about
pipelines (oil/gas and water).


Hard to keep track of it all:


Arab Gas Pipeline
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_Gas_Pipeline

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Syria is the only significant oil producer in the Eastern Mediterranean, with crude oil production of an estimated 365,000 barrels per day (bbl/d) and total liquids production of 416,000 bbl/d in 2005. Israel and the Palestinian Authority, Jordan, and Lebanon import almost all of their petroleum requirements.


Pipelines

Israel has one main operational oil pipeline, known as the “Trans-Israel Pipeline” or the “Tipline," built in 1968 to ship Iranian oil from the southern Red Sea port of Eilat to the northern Mediterranean port of Ashkelon, as a gateway to Europe. The pipeline went into disuse after relations with Iran soured in 1979. The 152-mile pipeline has a reported current capacity of 1-1.2 million bbl/d (having been expanded from 400,000 bbl/d) and 18 million barrels of storage capacity. Two smaller links feed Israel’s refineries.

During 2003, the Eilat-Ashkelon Pipeline Company (EAPC) modified the pipeline to reverse flows on the 42-inch line, to facilitate Russian Caspian petroleum exports to Far East. In October 2003, it was first reported that Swiss trader Glencore would ship 1.2 million barrels of Kazakh CPC Blend crude and 600,000 barrels of sour Russian Urals through the line as an alternative to the Suez Canal, which can accommodate only smaller, "Suezmax" tankers. In July 2006, Israel also signed and agreement with the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) to import and transport Azeri Light Crude through the pipeline.

A comprehensive settlement to the Arab-Israeli conflict could once again open up Israel as an alternative energy transportation corridor for Persian Gulf producers to the West. Currently Persian Gulf producers export oil via tankers that pass through Suez Canal or around the cape of Africa, by pipeline from Iraq to Turkey (design capacity 1.5-1.6 MMBD), or via the Sumed (Suez-Mediterranean) Pipeline (capacity 2.5 MMBD).

http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/East_Med/Oil.html


The "Tipline" pipeline would bypass Syria
http://www.eapc.co.il/pipelines.html

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Egypt begins pumping natural gas into Syria as part of giant pipeline project
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/07/10/africa/ME-Syria-Egypt-Gas.php

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Israeli Paper Reports Israel-Syria "Peace Canal" Proposal on Water Issue
Article by Arik Bender: "Pipeline at End of Tunnel"]

Although the bells of peace between Israel and Syria have only just started ringing again, new peace plans are already springing up throughout the Middle East, and are just waiting for the negotiating team to pluck them and offer them as a gift to the other side. One of these, which can be described as no less than grandiose, has recently been set before the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee. The plan proposes consolidating, institutionalizing, and strengthening the peace agreement being worked out between Israel and Syria by means of a "peace canal," an international project for conveying water from Turkey via Syria and the Golan Heights, which could provide a solution for a many of the water problems affecting Syria, Israel, Jordan, and the PNA.

The plan, which is a kind of sister project to the "Red-Dead Canal" in the south, was dreamt up by Bo'az Wachtel, the former chairman of the Green Leaf party, in his role as a research associate at the US Freedom House Institute, which was founded by Eleanor Roosevelt, and which is involved in projects to advance peace and human rights in the world. And if you believe what Wachtel has to say, and the many elements who have heard about the plans and been impressed by them, water will soon be arriving at our taps direct from Turkey, perhaps after a stop in Damascus.

The plan is based on bringing 2-3 billion cubic meters of water per annum from two rivers in southern-central Turkey - the Seyhan and Ceyhan - in the area of the city of Adana. The rivers have a joint annual volume of some 14 billion cubic meters of water. Most of the water goes to waste and flows into the Mediterranean Sea uninterrupted. For comparison's sake, the total joint water requirement of Israel and the Palestinians is "only" approximately 2 billion cubic meters annually.

Cont'd

http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1405370/israeli_paper_reports_israelsyria_peace_canal_proposal_on_water_issue/

Especially after their actions in Georgia. Isreal just isn't in the drivers seat on this one.