PUTIN PROMISES ISRAEL NOT TO SELL MISSILES TO SYRIA

Putin promises Israel not to sell missiles to Syria.
JERUSALEM (AFP) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has promised Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon by phone that he won’t sign a contract to sell SA-18 surface-to-air missiles to Syria, the daily Haaretz reports. The reported promise, said to have been made by Putin on Thursday, came on the day that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad begins a four-day official visit to Russia. The paper said that Sharon had explained to the Russian leader that the arms, also called Igla missiles, risked falling into the hands of Syrian-backed Hezbollah guerrillas in southern Lebanon, who are violently opposed to Israel.