Syria Military Aid Ussr

Through periods of drought and permanent inefficiency, the Syrian economy has hobbled along on the proceeds of oil exports and the crutch of soft credit and barter trade with the Soviet Bloc. The crutch has begun to wobble. The Damascus government has no hard cash. Its oil earnings are spent on imported wheat.

Through periods of drought and permanent inefficiency, the Syrian economy has hobbled along on the proceeds of oil exports and the crutch of soft credit and barter trade with the Soviet Bloc. The crutch has begun to wobble. The Damascus government has no hard cash. Its oil earnings are spent on imported wheat.

Syrian President Hafez Assad, ending a three-day visit to the Soviet Union, received strong assurances of increased military support from Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev. Syria already owes an estimated $8 billion to the Soviet Union for military hardware. In a joint statement, the two leaders also said they approved of efforts by factions of the Palestine Liberation Organization to close ranks after a four-year rift.

Senate Minority leader Robert Dole on Saturday urged the White House to step up its involvement to halt the "long night of destruction" in Lebanon, and warned that continued Soviet support of Syria could be a stumbling block in improved U.S.-Soviet relations.

The Soviet Union has recently supplied Syria with its most modern fighter plane and for the first time with submarines, the Israeli newspaper Maariv reported. Quoting intelligence sources, the newspaper said that the first shipment of Soviet MIG-31 jets recently arrived in Syria. Israeli Vice Adm. Abraham Ben-Shussan told reporters that the Damascus regime also has received new submarines from Moscow, Syria's first.

Senate Minority leader Robert Dole on Saturday urged the White House to step up its involvement to halt the "long night of destruction" in Lebanon, and warned that continued Soviet support of Syria could be a stumbling block in improved U.S.-Soviet relations.

Syrian President Hafez Assad, ending a three-day visit to the Soviet Union, received strong assurances of increased military support from Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev. Syria already owes an estimated $8 billion to the Soviet Union for military hardware. In a joint statement, the two leaders also said they approved of efforts by factions of the Palestine Liberation Organization to close ranks after a four-year rift.

The Soviet Union has recently supplied Syria with its most modern fighter plane and for the first time with submarines, the Israeli newspaper Maariv reported. Quoting intelligence sources, the newspaper said that the first shipment of Soviet MIG-31 jets recently arrived in Syria. Israeli Vice Adm. Abraham Ben-Shussan told reporters that the Damascus regime also has received new submarines from Moscow, Syria's first.