Israel says stopped arms supplies to Georgia prior to conflict

Israel says stopped arms supplies to Georgia prior to conflict (NSI News Source Info) MOSCOW - September 4, 2008: Israel imposed an embargo on arms supplies to Tbilisi a week before Georgia attacked its breakaway region of South Ossetia, the Israeli ambassador to Russia said on Thursday. Russia's Defense Ministry earlier said Israel had sold unmanned reconnaissance aircraft, and electronic artillery systems to Georgia and planned to supply armored vehicles and small arms. Some reports claimed that Israeli military experts had been training Georgian reconnaissance units since the fall of 2007. "A week before the conflict we decided to halt all arms supplies to Georgia," Anna Azari said. She also stressed that Israel previously supplied Georgia only with non-offensive weaponry and refused to sell heavy armor to Tbilisi despite Georgia's request. "As an example, I can tell you that several months before the start of the conflict [in South Ossetia] the Georgian leadership insisted that we sell 300 Merkava tanks to Tbilisi, but we refused to do so," the Israeli diplomat said. South Ossetia was attacked by Georgian forces on August 8. The majority of residents of South Ossetia hold Russian citizenship, and Moscow launched a massive operation to expel Georgian troops from the region and to reinforce its peacekeepers. According to information provided last month by the Russian General Staff, since 2005, prior to August 8 Georgian tank numbers increased from 98 to 183, armored vehicles from 83 to 134, artillery weapons from 96 to 238, combat helicopters from three to nine, and warplanes from seven to nine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday that Moscow would like to see an embargo on arms supplies to Georgia introduced until a change of leadership takes place in the Caucasus state.