Haaretz
Nisan 21, 5765
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday
promised to provide the Palestinian Authority with helicopters and other
equipment and training to help maintain order after Israel's promised
withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank this
summer.
"If we expect chairman Abbas to fight terrorism
effectively, he can't do it with slingshots and stones," Russian President
Vladimir Putin said after meeting with Palestinian Authority Chairman
Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah.
In the first visit to the Palestinian
territories by a Kremlin leader, Putin also pledged to help the
Palestinians rebuild their infrastructure in anticipation of a viable
Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza. Putin appeared to be offering
the Palestinians help in maintaining order and providing services after
Israel pulls out of Gaza this summer.
"We will provide the
Palestinian leadership with technical help, supplies of equipment and
training of personnel," Putin said after a two-hour meeting with Abbas,
who greeted him warmly at his Muqata headquarters.
Putin made the
remarks at a joint news conference with Abbas after the two men met for
several hours Friday, at the end of Putin's three-day visit to the
region.
Putin is also determined to arm the Palestinians, despite
Israel's objections, Palestinian Deputy Prime Minister and Information
Minister Nabil Sha'ath told Saudi newspaper Al Watan.
Putin met
Abbas and other Palestinian leaders in Ramallah on Friday and placed a
wreath at the tomb of Abbas' predecessor, Yasser Arafat.
A
Palestinian brass band played a rough version of the Russian national
anthem as Putin and Abbas stood side by side at the presidential compound
in Ramallah before heading into talks.
Palestinian officials
indicated Friday that Putin's plan to give the PA 50 armored personnel
carriers and two helicopters is subject to Israeli approval.
"This
will be coordinated with Israel because Israel controls our borders,"
Sha'ath said.
Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said the
Palestinians were waiting for a formal response from Israel to find out
whether they would receive the armored vehicles.
"I think I can
say the choppers are a done deal, but about the vehicles, we still don't
have a clear-cut answer from the Israelis," Erekat said.
The
helicopters would be used to transport Abbas. Israel destroyed the PA's
presidential helicopters as part of its campaign to limit the movement of
Arafat.
Israeli approval of Putin's plan appears unlikely. A
government source said this week that Israel would not allow the troop
carriers into the country. "First let's see some steps toward peace and
then it will be possible to strengthen the Palestinian security forces,
which are meanwhile taking part in fighting against us," the source said.
"The entry of any weapons to the territories requires our agreement and we
do not want to see armored vehicles pitted against us."
Russian
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who is accompanying Putin on his visit,
said, "This is an offer not so much for Israel, but for the Palestinians."
Russia says its arms won't endanger Israel
Israel is
also against the Russian sale of anti-aircraft missiles to Syria, a deal
U.S. President George W. Bush also criticized. "We didn't appreciate
that," he said Thursday, "but we made ourselves clear."
Putin,
however, dismissed concerns that the Syria deal posed a threat, saying
Thursday, "Russian weapons will not endanger Israel."
The Russian
leader met with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and President Moshe Katsav on
Thursday as part of a landmark visit, the first by a Russian head of state
in Israel, that began Wednesday night.
Putin told Sharon during a
three-hour meeting that he at first had vetoed the sale of Russian
missiles to Syria. He also promised not to let Iran threaten
Israel.
Sharon spoke of Israel's fears that Russian weapons sold to
Iran and other Arab countries would end up in the hands of terror
groups.
Putin told Katsav and Sharon that he had vetoed the
suggestion of his army and defense establishment to sell advanced weapons
and long-range missiles to Middle Eastern countries, including Syria,
after learning that Israel had no counter-response. He said Russia had
been negotiating the sale of Iskander missiles, which have a 300-kilometer
range that could cover Israel.
"I personally forbade the deal, so
you cannot say we are acting in an irresponsible way. On the contrary, we
are taking the concerns of our Israeli partners into consideration," he
said.
Putin and Sharon decided to increase intelligence cooperation
and set up a joint anti-terror mechanism. "We are strategic allies when it
comes to anything to do with [the war against] terror," Putin told
Sharon.
The Russian president told Sharon that his visit to Israel
was meant to turn over a new leaf in relations between Jerusalem and
Moscow and to mend any mistakes of the past.
Speaking of Russia's
deal to sell anti-aircraft missiles to Syria, Putin said these were
short-range SA-18 missiles that could not jeopardize Israel, except in
cases of flights over Syrian territory.
He said he would pass
provide Israel with information regarding the missile deal.
Putin
said the missile system was installed on vehicles and could not be
operated if removed (as terrorists would do).
Putin said overall
weapons sales to the Middle East total some $9 billion, some $6.8 billion
of which are from the United States and only $500 million worth of weapons
from Russia.
"So why is Israel concerned specifically by our supply
of missiles to Syria?" he asked.
"Are you sure the weapons in the
$9 billion deals won't reach terrorists in the Middle East? I have no
certainty about that, but I can promise you that our systems
won't."
Russia concerned about a nuclear Iran
Speaking
about Russia's aid to Iran's nuclear program, Putin said, "Russia is just
as concerned about a nuclear Iran as Israel." He said the aid is intended
to help Iran attain nuclear technology for peaceful purposes only, and
that Russia would make sure the uranium it sells to Iran for electric
power is not misused. However, he added that Iran must do more to assure
the world it isn't trying to build atomic weapons.
He called on the
Iranians to "abandon all technology to manufacture a full nuclear cycle"
and open its nuclear sites to international supervision.
He said
Tehran's agreement to return spent nuclear fuel to Russia "does not seem
to be enough."
Putin: Palestinian extremists gaining
power
Referring to the peace process, Putin said, "There are two
approaches. You can pressure Abbas or you can support him. I believe that
you [Israel] prefer to press him. The Arab world tells me that Israel is
not fulfilling its promises to assist Abbas. Pressure on him will do
damage to both Israel and the Palestinians. The extremists are gaining
power and may even get into power," he warned.
Putin surprised many
by saying that former Arafat "did not want to be a head of state, but
rather the leader of a revolution. Abbas, however, wants to be the head of
a state."
Putin told Sharon, "You visited me four years ago and
told me about Abbas, whom I did not even know of back then. All your
predictions about Arafat and Abbas were accurate."
Sharon said, "I
am prepared and want to help Abbas, but not at the cost of Jewish
lives."
Sharon added that Israel is committed to the road map for
Middle East peace, but the Palestinians must combat the terror
infrastructures and dismantle the terror groups. Abbas, he said, is
attempting to reach agreements with the terror groups and to absorb them
into the political system, which is against the road map.
Putin
visited the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum in Jerusalem on Thursday. He wore
a skullcap during the visit at his hosts' request and crossed himself
watching a film with pictures of concentration camp survivors after their
liberation. Putin later laid a wreath in memory of Holocaust
victims.
Sharon said he hoped the visit would improve relations
between the two countries, and then turned to Putin to say in Russian,
"You are among friends."