munaeem | 15 February, 2007 19:33
Moscow will assist in Saudi development of a civilian nuclear
programme and build six "research satellites" for the oil kingdom.
DEBKAfile's Gulf intelligence sources report this was agreed in the
talks held in Riyadh earlier this week by visiting Russian president
Vladimir Putin and King Abdallah.
Israeli military sources report that Moscow in fact undertook to provide Saudi Arabia with half a
dozen military surveillance satellites, launch them and set up ground
control centres, thereby making the oil kingdom the first Middle East
national with a multiple spy satellite capability for tracking the
military movements of its neighbours, including Iran and Israel.
This Saudi-Russian venture has got Israel worried because it will
enable Riyadh to pick up highly sensitive intelligence on its
military movements and relay it to Egypt and the Palestinians.
This development confirms DEBKA-Net-Weekly's previous disclosures
that the Saudis do not intend wasting time developing their own
military capabilities but are going shopping for finished products.
On Jan. 21, Saudi rulers favoured visiting Pakistani president Gen.
Pervez Musharraf with exception honours when he arrived at the outset
of a tour of five Arab capitals.
DEBKA-Net-Weekly described King Abdullah as personally welcoming the visitor and driving him in the royal convoy to a palace outside the capital where they were closeted
alone for three hours. The king also conferred on the Pakistani ruler
the King Abdul Aziz Award.
This ceremonial led up to an epic accord of 7 secret clauses on the
terms in which Pakistan would make nuclear weapons available to, and
sell, Saudi Arabia nuclear-capable missiles.
DEBKA-Net-Weekly's sources revealed that Musharraf undertook to make them available in the event of a nuclear emergency facing Saudi Arabia, the Gulf
emirates, Egypt or Jordan. A mechanism was thus set up for Saudi
Arabia to potentially beat Iran to the draw in acquiring a nuclear
bomb, as well as controlling the security of its allies.
Source: DEBKAfile website, Jerusalem, in English 15 Feb 07
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