Russian arms ship end up in Syria

A Russian-owned cargo ship laden with ammunition evaded international sanctions and ended up in Syria, despite assurances given to the Cyprus government that it would return home or be directed to another port.
Cypriot port officials had checked the vessel when it made an unscheduled stop for refuelling in rough seas late on Tuesday and found at least four containers with an estimated 60 tonnes of mostly bullets, in violation of international resolutions and sanctions against Bashar Assad’s regime.
When the ship was brought in to Limassol port on Tuesday, it evoked stark memories of the Syrian-bound Monchegorsk which was confiscated by Cyprus authorities in 2009, but the poor storage of the 100 containers in scorching summer heat resulted in the arms cache blowing up in July, killing 13 servicemen and firemen and knocking out the adjacent power station.
The ship Chariot, owned by Westberg Ltd., had set sail from St. Petersburg on December 9 and was carrying cargo from Russia's state weapons exporter Rosoboronexport.
Russia has long been a major arms supplier to Syria, where Assad has been trying to crush a 10-month-old wave of unrest by lethal armed force, raising an international outcry and triggering Western and Arab sanctions against Damascus that Moscow has refused to join.
Rosoboronexport spokesman Vyacheslav Davidenko said on Friday the arms exporter would neither confirm nor deny the report. "We do not comment on where our deliveries go, when they leave port or how."
A Turkish foreign ministry official on Friday confirmed that the ship had reached Syria.
Russia has voiced strong opposition to arms embargoes and has repeatedly promised to uphold arms contracts with Damascus, one of its top weapons customers, despite increasing international pressure.
An unnamed military source was quoted as saying in December that Russia had delivered anti-ship Yakhont missiles to Syria.
Syria accounted for 7% of Russia's total of $10 bln in arms deliveries abroad in 2010, according to the Russian defence think tank CAST.
The Westberg official said the company had done nothing wrong as no Russian law prevented the delivery from being made at Tartus port, where Russia maintains a naval base.