Prime Minister Ehud Olmert hinted Sunday that Russia may indeed have canceled its plans to sell Iran advanced S-300 anti-aircraft missiles following his visit to Moscow last week, as some observers estimated.

Olmert told ministers at the weekly cabinet meeting that his talks with Russian President Dimitri Medvedev were "very interesting."

The visit, he explained, was "an opportunity to meet President Medvedev and better understand how he views Russia's interests in various areas, especially those closest to us, including those in which we are threatened."

'I refused to go into details'

"Naturally, I stressed Israel's concern over the destructive effects that supplying Russian weapons to countries in potential friction with Israel – both our neighbors and those a little farther away – could have.  This could upset the balance in our region and lead to unpleasant developments," Olmert said. "I came away encouraged although, naturally, I refused to go into d

"I think that if this is indeed the case, as is apparent from Russian statements, this is an outcome that we can look forward to."

etails why this was so."

"I am pleased that I could read in the international media in the past three days," he added, "about an apparent trend in the Russian administration, to the effect that, according to official reports from there, new Russian weaponry, about which we are especially anxious, will not be sold to regions in distress, with specific reference to Iran and Syria. I think that if this is indeed the case, as is apparent from Russian statements, this is an outcome that we can look forward to."

'Main item on agenda'

Senior diplomatic officials in Jerusalem said Thursday that the Iran missile deal was the main item on the agenda of Olmert's meetings in Moscow with President Medvedev and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko, when asked Thursday whether Moscow promised not to sell Iran weapons like the S-300s, replied, "We have declared more than once at the very highest political level that we do not intend to supply those types of armaments to countries located in regions that are, to put it mildly, uneasy. This is not in the interests of our country's policy or the interests of preserving stability in one region or another of the world."

Nesterenko said Russia would make decisions on such matters based on "both preserving the balance of power in the given region, and taking into account the need for providing stability and security in the region."

Potent weapon

Russia's stated policy on arms sales to the Middle East has long been that it will not sell arms that could change the strategic balance in the region.

The S-300 is regarded as one of the most potent anti-aircraft missile systems currently deployed. Its radars can simultaneously track up to 100 targets while engaging up to 12. It takes five minutes to deploy.

Israeli sources have said that the S-300 missiles could provide Iran with an effective shield against a possible strike by IAF jets on its nuclear installations. Israeli sources have threatened to hit the Iranian facilities in order to push back Iran's program for acquiring nuclear weapons. Iran denies it is making these weapons but has been repeatedly threatening Israel with extinction.