"There are no negotiations taking place over this particular issue. There are preparations for the visit of President (Bashar) al-Assad to Moscow at the end of this month," Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters.

Israel charges that Russia is planning to sell its latest-generation Iskander missiles to Syria, which harbors several militant groups, supports the Lebanese-based militia Hezbollah and is technically at war with the Jewish state.

The issue was raised Thursday by Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom during talks with Russian officials.

But Lavrov, echoing comments made earlier in Washington by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov, said the charges were groundless.

"We don't have any hidden topics in our relations with Syria," he said. "We are ready for wide cooperation respecting our international obligations."

Ivanov said in Washington that Russia was not negotiating the sale.

The Iskander is developed by the KB Mashinostroyeniya institute, one of five Russian arms factories that has a right to negotiate its own contracts with foreign customers, skirting the Russian government.

But a spokesman for the company told ITAR-TASS news agency that no foreign state has yet placed orders for its new weapon.

That seemingly contradicts a report in the Kommersant business daily that Syria first approached the plant two years ago and placed an order for up to 18 missiles at a later date.

Syria is now interested in eight or nine missiles, Kommersant reported Wednesday.

"At this time, no government has placed an order with us for this type of system," institute spokesman Vladimir Yunker told ITAR-TASS on Friday.

Syria enjoyed close ties with Moscow during the half-century-long Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union.

The Iskander -- also known as the SS-26 -- is the updated version of the Soviet-era Scud missile used by Saddam Hussein's Iraq against Israel during the Gulf War.

It was first tested by Russia in 1996, has a range of just under 300 kilometers (180 miles), and reportedly can easily overcome existing air defense systems.

Each missile has two 480-kilogram (1,055-pound) warheads that in tests hit targets with an accuracy of 20 meters (yards).

The missile has no NATO equivalent and would be able to strike almost any spot in Israel -- and much of Iraq -- if acquired by Syria.

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