Russia Pledges Military Cooperation with Iran, Including  the S-300 Surface-to-Air System Deal

5  Dhul Qa'idah  1430 /  Friday 23 Oct 2009 / 01 Aban 1388

TEHRAN (FNA)-

Russia announced that it has no plan to restrict its military cooperation with Iran, stressing that Moscow would not allow "competitors a chance to take advantage of the situation".

The announcement came one day after a source, quoted by Interfax news agency, claimed that the Russian government had not received any payments as it had not given its final approval for the sale of the S-300 missiles to Iran yet.

However, Russia's Federal Service for Military and Technical Cooperation said in a statement that Moscow would fulfill its commitment according to its 'international obligations'.

"The Russian Federation implements and plans to further implement the military-technical cooperation with the Islamic Republic of Iran in strict accordance with existing legislation and its international obligations," AFP quoted the service as saying.

The source told the Russian news agency "the contract to deliver S-300 systems to Iran was frozen indefinitely due to an array of circumstances practically right after it was signed".

Moscow signed a contract with Tehran in 2007 to supply the powerful S-300 missiles to Iran.

The S-300 surface-to-air system, known as the SA-20 in the West, can track targets and fire at aircraft 120 kilometers (75 miles) away. It also features high jamming immunity and is capable of simultaneously engaging up to 100 targets.

Israeli and US officials have strongly urged Russia not to supply Iran with the missiles as they allege Tehran has military objectives in its nuclear enrichment program.

Tehran, however, says the only aim of its nuclear program is the civilian applications of the technology. Iran says that it has no use for such weapons as it considers them 'obsolete.'

Thursday's statement said that Russia does not want to become an unreliable partner for Iran, press tv reported.

"We can't give comments regarding concrete plans or obligations with regards to existing contracts as it would mean becoming an unreliable partner (and) give potential competitors a chance to take advantage of the situation," the military service concluded.

Russia says military cooperation with Iran to continue

MOSCOW, October 22, 2009 (RIA Novosti) -

Russia has no plans to stop military cooperation with Iran, a federal military cooperation body said on Thursday.

The statement comes amid media reports that Russia could cancel a contract to deliver S-300 surface-to-air missile systems to Tehran.

"Russia is resolved to continue military and technical cooperation with the Islamic Republic of Iran in strict compliance with existing laws and its international obligations," a spokesman for the Federal Service for Military and Technical Cooperation told RIA Novosti.

However, he refused to comment on "specific plans or obligations under existing contracts."

An unnamed defense industry official said on Wednesday that Russia would sustain significant losses if it decides to tear up the contract for S-300 system.

Russian military analyst Konstantin Makiyenko previously said a decision not to go ahead with the contract would cost Russia about $1 billion in lost profits plus $300-400 million in fines and penalties.

The defense industry official stressed that the S-300 systems were defensive weapons.

Reports of possible deliveries of S-300 missiles to Iran have aroused concerns in the West and in Israel.

Iranian media, citing senior security officials, have reported that Russia has started delivering elements of the advanced version of the S-300 missile under a 2005 contract. However, Russian arms industry officials have invariably denied such reports.

The latest version of the S-300 family is the S-300PMU2 Favorit, which has a range of up to 195 kilometers (about 120 miles) and can intercept aircraft and ballistic missiles at altitudes from 10 meters to 27 kilometers.

It is considered one of the world's most effective all-altitude regional air defense systems, comparable in performance to the U.S. MIM-104 Patriot system.