MOSCOW (WJC)–At a meeting at the Kremlin President Dmitry Medvedev, leaders of the European Jewish Congress (EJC) asked Russia not to sell the S-300 surface-to-air missiles to Iran and to push for new sanctions against the regime in Tehran.
“We asked that Russia stop supplying the S-300 to Iran,” said EJC President Moshe Kantor after meetings with the president and the foreign minister of Russia, Sergey Lavrov.
“Minister Lavrov told us the sale did not contravene international law. We were also told [by President Medvedev] that while the system represents a sophisticated means of protection, Russia was within its rights in selling Iran a defensive system. It was not endangering global security,” Kantor told the ‘Jerusalem Post’. He pointed out that the current Iranian regime “has declared openly that it wants to destroy other countries – not just Israel, but also the United States and Britain.”
The EJC president said that Iran was reportedly planning to sue Russia over delays in the shipment of S-300 systems that were ordered as far back as 2005. Iran believes the delays are deliberate; Russia has faced pressure from Israel and other countries to cancel the shipment altogether. “I think we should encourage Russia’s doubts, and support its delays,” Kantor said.
Medvedev told the EJC delegation that the Iranian threat “is very real and should be treated seriously.” However, according to the ‘Jerusalem Post’, he warned that “a military strike [on Iranian nuclear installations] would be catastrophic, and that we must continue to negotiate and maintain constant contact with the Iranians in order not to push them into a corner, a situation that could lead to disastrous results.”
The Jewish leaders also called on Russia to observe International Holocaust Day (27 January), starting next year. “We submitted our proposal and await his decision,” Kantor told reporters at a press conference after the meeting with Medvedev in Moscow.
“It’s important people realize that xenophobia is horrific.” Kantor said in Russia the day would be renamed “Day of the Soviet Army and the Liberation of Auschwitz” in order to honor the role of the Red Army in freeing the Auschwitz death camp on 27 January 1945.
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Preceding provided by World Jewish Congress