MOSCOW. Nov 3 (Interfax-AVN) - A contract envisioning the delivery of Russian-made Yakhont supersonic cruise anti-ship missiles to Syria has most likely been fulfilled, a military-technological cooperation expert, who asked not to be named, told Interfax-AVN on Wednesday.
"According to foreign sources, Syria has already received a Bastion mobile coast-based missile system equipped with a Yakhont self-guided supersonic missile. The Russian Defense Ministry has confirmed this information indirectly as well," the source said.
The delivery could have been made under an intergovernmental agreement, he said.
"Apparently, Rosoboronexport did not participate in this deal," he said.
Exports of Bastion missile systems to Syria are not subject to any restrictions, the source said.
Israeli and U.S. concerns that Yakhont missiles could fall into the hands of terrorists or could be re-exported to third countries are groundless, he said.
"It is practically ruled out. The Bastion is a powerful system that cannot be handed over to anyone secretly. Furthermore, only specially trained personnel know how to operation such a system," he said.
Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said earlier that Russia would deliver Yakhont missiles to Syria.
"This contract was signed long ago, in 2007. Why should we suspend it today, in 2010?", Serdyukov said during an official visit to the United States in September.
"We will export Yakhont missiles to Syria. We will fulfill this contract," the minister said.
"The United States and Israel are asking us not to deliver Yakhont missiles to Syria. But we do not think that their concerns that these weapons could fall into terrorists' hands are justified," he said.
"Russia secured quite strict terms for the delivery and use of these weapons, including a specially issued end user certificate. They [Syria] assumed these obligations," Serdyukov said.
However, the general director of Russian state arms trader Rosoboronexport, Anatoly Isaikin, told journalists last week that his enterprise had no contracts envisioning the delivery of anti-ship missiles to Syria.
"Rosoboronexport has no such contracts. Naturally, in the absence of such contracts, Rosoboronexport cannot provide them," Isaikin said.
It is up to the Russian authorities to decide whether anti-ship missiles could be exported to Syria or not, he said.
"I am responsible only for the deliveries permitted by contracts signed through Rosoboronexport, he said.
According to unofficial reports, Syria received two Russian-made Bastion mobile coast-based systems equipped with Yakhont missiles. The price of the deal is estimated at around $300 million.
The Bastion system equipped with Yakhont supersonic self-guided anti-ship missiles is able to cover more than 600 kilometers of the seacoast and is used in operations against various classes and types of surface ships and other targets.
The Yakhont missile has a range of 300 kilometers and is capable of carrying a warhead weighing more than 200 kilograms.