DAMASCUS, July 25: Moscow has asked Syria not to use Russian missiles to retaliate if attacked by Israel, diplomats said on Tuesday. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Saltanov delivered the message to senior Syrian officials in Damascus last week, as the risk of Israel’s Lebanese offensive expanding into a regional war rose, the diplomats said.

“Saltanov told them Syria can use Russian anti-aircraft missiles to thwart Israeli air attacks, but that Russia objected to using Russian Scuds to retaliate,” said one diplomat, who did not want to be identified.

Another diplomat said: “The Russians don’t want their missiles to hit Israeli cities. Syria, however, has more advanced North Korean missiles.”

Syria, which relied on Russia for military supplies during the 1970s and 80s, has diversified its arsenal in recent years to include Chinese and North Korean weapons.

Diplomats say Syria has a formidable stock of surface-to-surface missiles that can hit deep into Israel, plus an array of Russian surface-to-air batteries.

A Syrian official declined to comment on the report, but said the Baathist government was watching how far Israeli forces are trying to advance in Lebanon.

“We are convinced of the futility of the Israeli invasion of Lebanon,” he said. “They cannot wipe south Lebanon off the map and we will act if our national security is threatened.”

Russia has been improving ties with Israel and is no longer as close to Syria as during the Soviet era.

Moscow has called for a ceasefire in Lebanon and criticised the Israeli attacks, saying they went beyond the anti-Hezbollah military operation the Jewish state said it was conducting.

Israel says Syria, a main backer of Hezbollah, has supplied the Lebanese group with weapons since the war began on July 12, although Israel’s army has said it has no intention of expanding the offensive beyond Lebanon’s border.

Syria has said it has only supplied humanitarian goods to Lebanon and vowed to retaliate if attacked by Israel.

Syria did not retaliate in 2003 when Israel attacked the base of a militant Palestinian group inside Syrian territory, but diplomats say the Baathist government cannot risk losing credibility if it did not respond to another Israeli strike.

A senior military intelligence official told Israeli Radio on Tuesday that Syria has placed its military on high alert, and Israel fears Damascus could “misread the situation”.—Reuters