Russia to honor arms contracts with Syria

Russian Chief of the General Staff Nikolai Makarov on Tuesday said Moscow will continue honoring its arms export contracts with Syria.

A handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) on March 17, 2012, shows Syrian fire fighters working at the scene of two bomb attacks on security buildings in the heart of the Syrian capital Damascus which killed several people, state television said. [Xinhua/AFP]

 

"We are honoring all of our contractual liabilities. Everything will be fulfilled, because there are no effective sanctions," Makarov told reporters.

Russia is an independent country, he said, taking note of sanctions imposed by other countries on Syria.

With regards to possible Russian warships' deployment to Syria, Makarov said Moscow has no such plans.

Meanwhile, the Defense Ministry Tuesday denied reports that said Russia has sent warships to Syrian ports.

The ministry said a Russian tanker had arrived off the Syrian coast for technical reasons and its civilian crew was accompanied by security guards.

The tanker was carrying fuel and food supplies for the Russian Black Sea and Northern fleets, which are conducting anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden, the ministry said.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also denied the reports and called them "fairy tales."

On Monday, the Saudi-based Al Arabiya TV cited opposition sources as saying that Russian special forces have arrived in the Syrian Mediterranean port city of Tartus.