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MOSCOW, August 2 (Itar-Tass) - Attempts to accuse Russia of supplying Yugoslavia with parts of the S-300 missile systems is a malicious canard. This is how head of the public relations centre of the Russian Rosvooruzhenie arms-selling company Valentin Zapevalov commented on Monday on the article "Russian S-300 systems in Serbia", published in the last issue of the prestigeous journal Jane's Defence Weekly.
"Some Western quarters continue attempts to remove Russia from participation in settling the Balkans crisis. This is evidently the reason why the above article was published in Jane's Defence Weekly, alleging that Russia breached the U.N. embargo and supplied the Yugoslav Air Force with components of six or ten S-300PM air defence missile systems before the start of the NATO air raids," Zapevalov emphasised.
The journal alleged that the first deliveries of S-300PM components were made to Yugoslavia early in 1999 in railway wagons carrying metal scrap. As a result, Yugoslavia received 20 missiles of S-300PM systems.
Some quantities of S-300PM parts were also delivered to Yugoslavia via Hungary in fuel tank-cars which were included in a humanitarian convoy of the Russian Ministry for Emergencies.
The Rosvooruzhenie spokesman explained, commenting at Itar-Tass request on a possibility of making such deliveries of S-300PM systems, that such allegations can be described as "non-scientific fantasies".
Rosvooruzhenie did not supply Yugoslavia with S-300PM systems or their components, although Yugoslav authories repeatedly requested the Russian government for such deliveries after the start of NATO air strikes on Yugoslavia, the spokesman continued.
"S-300 components are impressive in size. Therefore, their deliveries by air, sea or by rail to Yugoslavia would have been detected by NATO intelligence services.
"Besides, if we suppose that such deliveries had taken place, NATO aviation would have lost several dozens of its planes in each raid on Yugoslavia on the first days of combat use of six or ten multichannel S-300PM systems or their components," he claimed.
Any supposition that the Yugoslav Air Force received S-300PM systems or their parts before the start of bombings by NATO aviation, bypassing the U.N. sanctions, is malicious misinformation, the spokesman stressed.