Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said there was no reason for the U.S. and Israel to be concerned about the possible transfer of P-800 Yakhont cruise missiles from Syria to Hizbullah."We will supply Yakhont to Syria, we will fulfill the contract," Serdyukov was quoted as saying by ITAR-TASS news agency in comments to Russian journalists on Friday.
Serdyukov was speaking in Washington during a visit to the Pentagon aimed at expanding military ties as part of the countries' much-vaunted "reset" in relations.
Russia's arms sales and possible nuclear cooperation with Syria is unnerving for the U.S. and Israel, which have expressed fears that the missiles could be transferred to Hizbullah.
Serdyukov described such fears as unjustified.
"The U.S. and Israel ask us not to supply Syria with Yakhont. But we do not see the concerns expressed by them that these arms will fall into the hands of terrorists," he said.