JERUSALEM - The transfer of advanced Syrian weapons to Lebanon destabilizes the region and is a blatant violation of United Nations resolutions, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said on Tuesday in response to media reports that Syria recently transferred Scud missiles to Hizbullah.

On Monday, the Kuwaiti Al-Rai newspaper reported that Syria had transferred Scuds to Hizbullah and that in response Israel had threatened to bomb Syrian and Lebanese targets.

Barak said Tuesday that the IDF was closely following what was happening in Lebanon.

“We have no offensive intentions with regards to Lebanon,” he said during a tour of the DF’s Tel Hashomer Base. “We recommend that everyone work to retain the quiet.”

Earlier in the day, Barak visited the Ramat David Air Force Base with Deputy Chief of General Staff Maj.-Gen. Benny Gantz and said that the IDF was prepared for all of the current challenges it faced.

At the same time though, Barak said, Israel needed to make efforts to achieve peace with its neighbors.

Also Tuesday, in a meeting with French Prime Minister Francois Fillon in Paris, President Shimon Peres accused Syria of doublespeak.

“On the one hand, Syria is talking about peace, and on the other it is giving Scuds to Hizbullah in order to threaten Israel," he said. "Syria’s smuggling weapons to Hizbullah and strengthening terror organizations contradict its declaration that it is seeking peace. Syria can not play both games. The true face of Syria has been revealed."