Sources Say Russia Will Send Advanced Air Defences to Syria

   (Reuters) --- Moscow is sending an advanced anti-aircraft missile system to Syria, two Western officials and a Russian source said, as part of what the West believes is stepped-up military support for embattled President Bashar al-Assad.

   The Western officials said the SA-22 system would be operated by Russian troops, rather than Syrians. It was on its way to Syria but had not yet arrived.

   "This system is the advanced version used by Russia and it's meant to be operated by Russians in Syria," said one of the sources, a Western diplomat who is regularly briefed on U.S., Israeli and other intelligence assessments.

   A U.S. official separately confirmed the information.

   The Russian source, who is close to the Russian navy, said the delivery would not be the first time Moscow had sent the SA-22 system, known as Pantsir-S1 in Russian, to Syria. It had been sent in 2013, the source said.

   "There are plans now to send a new set," the source said, without detailing how far along the process was.

   However, the Western diplomat said the version of the SA-22 on its way to Syria was newer than previous missile systems deployed there.

   Syrian officials could not be reached for comment.

   The United States has been leading a campaign of air strikes in Syrian air space for a year, joined by aircraft from European and regional allies including Britain, France, Jordan and Turkey. U.S. forces operating in the area are concerned about the potential introduction of the weapon, the diplomat said.

   U.S. officials say they believe Moscow has been sending troops and equipment to Syria, although they say Russia's intentions are not clear.

   Lebanese sources have told Reuters that Russian troops have begun participating in combat operations on behalf of the Assad government. Moscow has not commented on those reports.

   Speaking at a news conference in Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia was sending military equipment to Syria to help the Assad government combat Islamic State fighters, and had sent experts to help train the Syrian army to use it.

   However, the dispatch of advanced anti-aircraft missiles would appear to undermine that justification, since neither Islamic State nor any other Syrian rebel group possesses any aircraft.

   Lavrov also said coordination was needed between Russia's military and the Pentagon to avoid "unintended incidents" around Syria. Russia was conducting pre-planned naval drills in the eastern Mediterranean, he said.

   This year has seen momentum shift against Assad's government in Syria's 4-year-old civil war, which has killed 250,000 people and driven around half of Syria's 23 million people from their homes.

   An ally of Damascus since the Cold War, Moscow maintains its only Mediterranean naval base at Tartous on the Syrian coast, and protecting it would be a strategic objective.

   Recent months have also seen talk of a new role for outside forces in Syria, with NATO-member Turkeyproposing the creation of a "safe zone" free from both Islamic State and government forces near its Syrian border.

   Even if Russians operated the missiles and kept them out of the hands of the Syrian army, the arrival of such an advanced anti-aircraft system could also unsettle Israel, which in the past has bombed sophisticated arms it suspected were being handed to Assad's Lebanese guerrilla allies, Hezbollah.

   "In the Middle East you never know what will happen. If the Russians end up handing it (SA-22) over to the Syrian military I don't think the Israelis would intervene but they would go bananas if they see it heading towards Hezbollah in Lebanon," the diplomatic source said.

   An Israeli military spokesman declined to comment on the missile system. A senior Israeli defense official briefing reporters on Thursday said Israel was in contact with Moscow and would continue its policy of stopping advanced weapons reaching Hezbollah.

   "We have open relations with the Russians who have come to save Assad in the civil war. Along with this, we will not allow our sovereignty to be compromised or the transfer of advanced or chemical weapons (to Hezbollah). We are following the developments and keeping open channels with Moscow."

Sweden summons Russian ambassador after NATO threat

Sweden has a long-standing policy of military non-alignment, 

meaning it is not bound by any alliances and chooses to take 

part in military operations on a case-by-case basis 

(AFP Photo/Marko Saavala / Tt)

   Stockholm (AFP) --- Sweden's foreign ministry on Friday summoned Russia's ambassador after Moscow threatened retaliatory measures if the Scandinavian country joined NATO.

   Viktor Tatarintsev "is expected to come today" at Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom's request, a foreign ministry spokeswoman said.

   "We are an independent state and we make our own security policy decisions independently ... We do not accept threats and I have summoned the Russian ambassador to ask questions and get an explanation," Wallstrom told journalists.

   She was reacting to comments by Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, who said Moscow would take "retaliatory measures" if Sweden were to join NATO.

   "Swedish membership in NATO would have politico-military and foreign policy consequences, and would require retaliatory measures from Russia," she said during a weekly briefing in Moscow on Thursday.

   "Defence and national security strategy is up to each sovereign state to decide. However, we still consider Sweden's policy of non-participation in military blocs to be an important factor for the stability of northern Europe," she said.

   Sweden has a long-standing policy of military non-alignment, meaning it is not bound by any alliances and chooses to take part in military operations on a case-by-case basis.

   The country is however part of NATO's Partnership for Peace programme and has contributed troops to its operations in Afghanistan, for example.

   Swedish public opinion has long been opposed to NATO membership, though recent polls have shown an increase in support amid concerns over Russia's recent military resurgence.

Russia sends ships, aircraft and forces to Syria

   WASHINGTON (Reuters) --- Russia has sent two tank landing ships and additional aircraft to Syria in the past day or so and has deployed a small number of forces there, U.S. officials said on Wednesday, in the latest signs of a military buildup that has put Washington on edge.

   The two U.S. officials, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said the intent of Russia's military moves in Syria remained unclear.

   U.S. officials have not ruled out the possibility that Moscow may be laying the groundwork for an air combat role in Syria's conflict to bolster Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

   Assad, a longtime Russian ally, has seen the area he controls whittled down to a fifth or less of Syria’s territory after more than four years of grinding civil war.

   An official with the Russian defense ministry declined to comment.

   A traditional arms supplier to Damascus, Moscow has supported Assad throughout the war that has fractured Syria and has said it strongly opposes Islamic State, a militant group that is also the target of a U.S.-led air campaign.

   One of the U.S. officials said initial indications suggested the focus was on preparing an airfield near the port city of Latakia, a stronghold of Assad.

   The officials estimated that dozens of the naval infantry forces had recently arrived at the airfield, possibly to help provide security.

   Reuters has previously reported on the transport of prefabricated housing units for hundreds of people to the Syrian airfield. The two officials said additional Russian prefabricated housing units had arrived as well.

   The Russian tank landing ships arrived in the past day or so at the port city of Tartus, just south of Latakia, the officials said, without providing information on the cargo. Additional cargo aircraft had also arrived at the airfield near Latakia.

   The United States and Russia have long been at loggerheads over Syria. Russia has backed Assad, while the United States advocates a political transition to end his rule.

   On Tuesday, the Pentagon said Russian support for Assad risked "further escalating the conflict."

   "If there are further efforts to support the Assad regime from a military standpoint on the part of the Russians, we would again see that with concern," Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook told a news briefing.

Lebanese sources: Russians have taken part in Syria military operations

   BEIRUT (Reuters) --- Russian forces have taken part in military operations in Syria, three Lebanese sources familiar with political and military developments in Syria said on Wednesday, one of them saying the Russian participation so far was in "small numbers".

   "They have started in small numbers, but the bigger force did not yet take part," one of the sources said. "There are numbers of Russians taking part in Syria but they did not yet join the fight against terrorism strongly."

   Another source said: "They are taking part in military operations. It is more than an advisory role."

   The three sources, who spoke on condition they not be identified because of the sensitivity of the issue, did not give further details on the nature of the combat role in support of the Syrian military.

   Syrian officials have denied any combat role by Russians in Syria. Moscow said on Wednesday that Russian military experts were present in Syria to assist with Russian arms deliveries to Syria, which Moscow says are aimed at combating terrorism.

   Russia has declined to comment on the exact scale and scope of its military presence in Syria. U.S. officials have suggested in recent days that Moscow is scaling up a presence, possibly with the intent of assisting its ally, President Bashar al-Assad.

   Asked about the comments from the Lebanese sources, a Syrian military official reiterated his government's denial and said the Russian role was purely advisory. "Does an advisor take part? No, they don't," the official said.

   The Syrian information minister said this week that no Russian combat forces were fighting alongside the Syrian army

The Latest: Polish authorities ban anti-migrant rally.

STRASBOURG, France (AP) — The latest news as countries across Europe cope with the arrival of thousands of migrants and refugees. All times local (CET):

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2:50 p.m.

   Authorities in the Polish capital, Warsaw, have banned a protest against Muslim refugees that was planned for the city center on Saturday, saying it is driven by out-of-place hatred.

   The decision follows a government announcement that Poland will be able to accept more refugees that the 2,000 originally declared and a declaration from Catholic leaders that the church will do its best to help immigrants.

   Predominantly Catholic Poland appears to be gradually opening to the need of helping the plight of Muslims fleeing for their lives. But fears also remain.

   Warsaw Deputy Mayor Jaroslaw Jozwiak said Wednesday that the organizers of the protest had used the "language of hatred" to justify it.

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2:10 p.m.

   Germany's foreign minister is pressing other major powers and Arab nations to ease a funding crunch at the U.N. refugee agency.

   The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees has appealed for an extra $30.5 million to help deal with Europe's refugee crisis. Meanwhile, funding shortfalls have forced the U.N. to cut food aid to refugees in countries neighboring Syria over recent months.

   Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, whose country holds the Group of Seven presidency, said Wednesday he will organize a meeting of G-7 countries and Syria's Arab neighbors when the U.N. General Assembly meets later this month.

   He told lawmakers his message would be: "If the fate of these people is really close to our hearts, then at least ensure UNHCR gets the necessary money to give them their daily rations."

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2:05 p.m.

   The United Arab Emirates has defended its response to the Syrian refugee crisis in the face of criticism that oil-rich Gulf states should be doing more to address the issue.

   In a statement provided to The Associated Press, the Emirati government said it has provided residency permits to more than 100,000 Syrians who have entered the country since 2011, and that more than 242,000 Syrian nationals currently live in the country. It did not provide details on the terms.

   Residency visas in the Emirates — where foreigners outnumber citizens more than four to one — are typically tied to an employing sponsor or a resident family member, and do not allow for an indefinite stay in the country or an opportunity to acquire Emirati citizenship.

   In addition to the visa extensions, the Emirates said it has provided more than $530 million in humanitarian aid and development assistance since 2012 in response to the Syrian crisis.

   Part of that aid goes to fund a camp in Jordan that houses more than 4,000 refugees.

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2 p.m.

People make their way on the railway track at the border

line between Serbia and Hungary near Roszke, southern

Hungary.

   Police in southern Denmark have shut down a section of highway after a large group of migrants left the place where they were staying after entering Denmark by train from Germany, and started walking on the highway north of Padborg on the Danish-German border. According to Denmark's TV2, they are chanting "Sweden, Sweden"

   Also in southern Denmark, police stopped three trains with migrants who had crossed the strait separating northern Germany and the Danish island of Lolland. A group of up to 35 who fled earlier in the day from the ferry terminal is Roedby have now returned, they said.

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1:45 p.m.

   Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka says his government's opposition to mandatory quotas for accepting migrants in the EU member states has not changed.

   "The compulsory quotas are not a good solution," Sobotka said in a statement. "To continue with a discussion about their establishment all across Europe only prevents us from taking really important and necessary steps."

   State Secretary for European Affairs Tomas Prouza told the Czech public television Wednesday: "We consider the quotas nonsensical. They don't solve the problem."

   The Czechs argue most of the migrants have been heading for Germany and don't want to stay in the Czech Republic.

   Last Friday, the prime ministers of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and Poland rejected calls by Germany and some other EU members for compulsory sharing of refugees.

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12:10 p.m.

   A Hungarian camerawoman has been fired after she was caught on video kicking and tripping migrants entering Hungary across the border with Serbia.

   The N1TV Internet channel said their employee, widely identified in Hungarian media as Petra Laszlo, has been dismissed because she "behaved unacceptably" at a makeshift gathering point where police take migrants immediately after they enter Hungary near the village of Roszke.

   In videos posted online, Laszlo can be seen kicking at least one migrant in a group trying to break through police lines and tripping a man carrying a small child while also running from police.

   N1TV editor-in-chief Szabolcs Kisberk said in a statement late Tuesday that the dismissal was immediate. Much of the channel's content centers on the activities of the far-right Jobbik party

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11:45 a.m.

   Two German newspapers have published a special supplement in Arabic, welcoming refugees and giving them advice on where to go for services.

   The top-selling Bild newspaper and Berlin's BZ, both produced by the same publisher, put out the four-page insert in Wednesday's editions, headlined "Welcome to Berlin; You have finally reached Berlin, what do you need to do now?"

   A map of the capital, labeled in Arabic, points out refugee housing centers, health care clinics, playgrounds, language schools offering free courses and other places of importance.

   It also includes a short list of Arabic-German phrases, and details on the regulations for asylum seekers.

A group of refugees waits after an overnight bus trip from

Germany, in Champagne-sur-Seine, south of Paris, France,

 Wednesday.

   Berlin Mayor Michael Mueller's message greeting the refugees, also in Arabic, says they will find that "the German capital is an open, tolerant and international metropolis."

___

11:30 a.m.

   Greek authorities say they have completed screening more than 17,000 refugees and migrants stranded in miserable conditions on the island of Lesbos, and most have boarded ferries for the mainland.

   A football stadium has been enlisted as a screening center, and police sent more staff and fingerprinting equipment to accelerate the process. Nearly half the migrants reaching Greece in small boats from Turkey arrive on Lesbos, and sleep rough there until they can be registered.

   Police said Wednesday the screening center will continue to handle some 3,000-4,000 people who arrive every day.

   About 10,000 people left Lesbos this week in ferries for the mainland.

___

11:30 a.m.

   Europe's top human rights organization is calling on governments to treat migrants and asylum-seekers with the same respect and dignity as Europeans receive.

   In a letter Wednesday to all 47 member states, Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland said it was "self-defeating to mistreat or demean any future members of our societies."

   He notes that collective expulsions are banned, there must be no discrimination on basis of religion or race, and there should be equal access to food, shelter and health care.

   Europe has struggled, in part, because front-line nations such as Hungary and Greece have not put enough facilities in place to house a human flow averaging 2,000 to 3,000 a day while the vast majority of people try to push deeper into Europe and seek refuge in Germany.

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10:50 a.m.

   Norway's migration agency has turned down an offer from an Oslo mosque to provide shelter for migrants and refugees, saying such housing needs to be religion-neutral.

   The Norwegian Directorate of Immigration is scrambling to find housing for a growing stream of asylum-seekers coming to the wealthy Nordic country.

   But agency spokesman John Olav Kroken says the offer from the Islamic Cultural Center, Norway's first mosque, was turned down because housing migrants in a place of worship would be against the rules.

   "It cannot be a mosque or a church," he said. "I think they were disappointed because they wanted to help."

   The Islamic Cultural Center said it respected the agency's decision and that it would make its premises and staff available to help should the need arise in the future.

   Norway received more than 2,300 asylum-seekers in August, the highest monthly number since the Balkan wars in the 1990s.

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10:50 a.m.

   German Chancellor Angela Merkel says integrating successful asylum applicants into German society will be a priority and authorities must learn from the past.

   Merkel told lawmakers Thursday that a country welcoming many people from other cultures "also must make clear what rules apply here."

   Merkel said the government must learn from the experiences of the 1960s, when West Germany allowed in "guest workers" from Turkey and other nations but paid scant attention to integrating them. She says key steps include ensuring that new arrivals learn German and trying to get them into jobs.

   She added: "We must not look away if environments solidify in which integration is rejected or if parallel societies develop — there can be no tolerance there."

___

10:40 a.m.

   A group of refugees has arrived in France after an overnight bus trip from Germany, the first among around 1,000 that French President Francois Hollande pledged to receive from the neighboring country.

   Hollande committed to accepting 24,000 refugees over two years — approximately the amount that Germany took in over just the past weekend.

   French television in Champagne-sur-Seine showed the migrants, including families with young children, leaving a bus and entering a Red Cross tent for coffee. French public opinion is split on how to handle the influx of people fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East and Africa.

___

10:25 a.m.

   German Chancellor Angela Merkel has renewed her demand for compulsory sharing of refugees among European Union countries and insisted that the migrant crisis is a challenge for every nation in the 28-member bloc.

   Merkel addressed the German parliament's annual budget debate on Wednesday just as the head of the European Union's executive, Jean-Claude Juncker, called for the compulsory relocation among EU countries of another 120,000 refugees.

   Germany has taken in more migrants than any other EU country. Merkel said: "We need a binding agreement on a binding distribution of refugees among all member states, according to fair criteria."

   Merkel said "it would be a step if we achieved what Jean-Claude Juncker is proposing today" but that the challenge is deeper than just sharing refugees.

___

9:00 a.m.

   The head of the European Union's executive says 22 of the member states should be forced to accept another 120,000 people in need of international protection who have come toward the continent at high risk through Greece, Italy and Hungary.

   With the new call to the European Parliament, EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said Wednesday that his additional plan would bring the total for emergency relocation to 160,000.

   Recalling the lengthy haggling among member states over the spread of the initial 40,000, Juncker said that this time "this has to be done in a compulsory way."

   Juncker said he wants his plan endorsed by the member states at a special meeting in Brussels on Monday.

Russia demands answers from Sofia, Athens as Syria flights blocked

   Moscow (AFP) --- Moscow on Tuesday demanded answers from Greece and Bulgaria after Sofia banned Russian supply flights to Syria from its airspace and Athens said it had been asked by Washington to do the same.

   "If anyone -- in this case our Greek and Bulgarian partners -- has any doubts, then they, of course, should explain what the problem is," deputy foreign minister Mikhail Bogdanov told the Interfax news agency.

   "If we are talking about them taking some sort of restrictive or prohibitive measures on the Americans' request, then this raises questions about their sovereign right to take decisions about planes from other countries -- Russia in particular -- crossing their air space," he said.

   "We explain where our planes are flying to, and what their purpose and their cargo is," he added.

   He said that ferrying cargo, which included humanitarian and military aid, through the airspace of a third party -- as well as obtaining permission to do so -- should be a routine procedure.

   "We've never had any problems before," he said.

   Washington has expressed concern following reports suggesting Moscow may be boosting military support to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and had sent a military advance team to the war-torn country.

   Earlier on Tuesday, NATO member Bulgaria confirmed it had refused permission late last night for an unspecified number of Russian aircraft to cross its airspace.

   Greece said on Monday that Washington had asked it to ban Russian supply flights to Syria from its airspace.

   It said it was examining the US request but gave no further details.

   Moscow has dismissed US concerns about its alleged Syria buildup, saying its military aid to the Assad regime was nothing out of the ordinary.

   Bogdanov reiterated Moscow's official position, stressing that the only Russian military personnel currently in Syria were there to train the local army.

   "Our partners -- representatives of the Syrian armed forces -- need some help and guidance," he said.

   He denied Russia had any plans to boost its presence in the war-torn country and turn its naval facility at the Syrian port of Tartus into a fully-fledged base.

   "We do not have such plans," he said.

   Syria was a close ally of Moscow's during the Soviet era, receiving military backing at a time when Russia supported the Arab world in its confrontation with Israel.

   Bogdanov said the current military cooperation between Syria and Russia was "rather modest" compared to previous years.

Poland launches new mine-hunter vessel

Poland has launched a new class of naval combat ship.

   WARSAW, Poland, Sept. 8 (UPI) --- Poland has launched a new mine-hunter vessel as part of its plan to modernize its Navy.

Poland's first-of-class Cormorant II mine-hunter/destroyer.

Photo: Polish Ministry of Defense

   That modernization plan will involve spending more than $4.3 billion over the next decade on the Navy and possibly joining with Norway for joint procurement of new submarines.

   "Poland is changing, developing, renovating roads, kindergartens, nurseries, museums," said Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz. "Entire neighbourhoods in our cities are changing ... but we also remember defense."

   The Polish Press Agency reported Kopacz made the comment at the launching at the port of Gdańsk of the ORP Cormorant II, which will "inevitably increase the security of shipping routes and marine training grounds."

   "This is our priority, we will implement these orders with Polish contractors," she said.

   Poland ordered three Cormorant II-class ships in September 2013 in an agreement between the Armament Inspectorate and a consortium made up of the Shipbuilding and Repair company, the Research and Development Center for Marine Technology and the Naval Shipyard in Gdynia.

   The ship launched, a first of class, is 192 feet long and armed with two 23 mm guns and two Strela-2M missiles an Oerlikon KDA 35mm anti-aircraft gun.

   No details were given as to launch dates for the other two vessels.

   In a related development, Poland has apparently held talks with Norway about cooperation with Norway on possible submarine procurement, the Norwegian Ministry of Defense reported.

   Norway currently operates six Ula-class submarines, which are about 25 years old, and which will be phased out beginning in mid-2020s.

   "The acquisition of new submarines will be costly," the Norwegian ministry said. "Norway is working to achieve a comprehensive submarine cooperation on new submarines with other countries so as to reduce costs.

   "The Ministry of Defense has recently had discussions with other nations. Poland has a specification that is quite similar to Norway's, and it is therefore interesting to consider closer to a possible collaboration on procurement, operation and maintenance.

   "Norway will intensify discussions with Poland...," it said.

   Poland, a former Warsaw-Pact country allied with the Soviet Union during the Cold War, joined NATO in 1999. It is opposed to, and concerned over, Russia's unilateral annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region and its support of pro-Russian rebels in Eastern Ukraine. It is currently involved in the modernization of its military forces and procurement programs for new fleets of utility and attack helicopters.