Russia offers to sell Israel spy satellite photos

In a front page report, the daily said, the "surprising" offer was made last week by Russian deputy director for international cooperation Alexandr I Medvedchikov when he met with Israeli space agency chief Colonel Avi Har Even in Moscow.

Offering to open its archives to Israel, the Russians offered to make available for the first time all aerial photographs taken by their spy satellites while orbiting over Israeli territory in resolutions, ranging from one to 20 metres, it said.

"Israel is seriously considering the offer, since it does not have a complete set of space photographs of its territory," the paper said, adding Israel’s OFEK-3 satellite does not photograph Israeli territory.

The daily quoted an Israeli source as saying the shots were taken on a systematic basis, with many dating back to the days of the Soviet Union, when satellites were used by the "hostile regime to monitor Israel’s advances in defense and weaponry".

Israel received the Russian offer with "surprise" as the US consistently refuses to allow other countries access to photographs taken by its satellites, the paper said, adding concerns have also been voiced that Russia "may have agreed to sell the photographs of Israeli territory to enemy states."

The black and white photographs offered for sale could fetch thousands of dollars in the international market. Russia made no secret of the fact that the offer was to raise "desperately needed funds for its space programme", the paper added.