Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday and urged him to do nothing to destabilise Syria. Netanyahu told Putin that Israel would press a campaign to prevent Iran’s military entrenchment in Syria, his office said. Syria, Iran, and Russia say Israel was behind an air strike on a Syrian air base on Monday that killed seven Iranian military personnel, something Israel has neither confirmed nor denied.

In the telephone call, Putin told Netanyahu that it was important to respect Syria’s sovereignty, according to a statement on the Kremlin’s website. In its statement on the conversation, Netanyahu’s office said: “The prime minister reiterated that Israel will not allow Iran to establish a military presence in Syria.” </s> BEIRUT, LEBANON (5:35 A.M.) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Russian President Vladimir Putin that his air force will continue to conduct airstrikes in Syria.

“If there is feasibility from an intelligence and military standpoint – we attack and so it will continue,” the Israeli Premier stated during his official state visit to China this week.

Netanyahu added that he informed President Putin of Israel’s intentions to continue their air operations inside Syria, regardless of Russia’s disapproval.

This statement by Netanyahu comes just five days after the Israeli Air Force attacked the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) in the Palmyra countryside, claiming they were targeting Hezbollah. </s> Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned to Israel Wednesday night at 11:00 p.m. after a day in Moscow and meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

 

 Four hours earlier, in a conference call with Israeli reporters, he said there was “no basis to think” that the Russians would curb Israel’s maneuverability in Syria. He obviously knew of what he spoke.



Because 75 minutes after his return to Israel, the Iranians launched 20 missiles toward IDF positions on the Golan Heights. Israel had anticipated the attack, an Iranian effort to avenge earlier Israeli attacks on their positions in Syria. It was met with a pulverizing response by the IAF, destroying much of the Iranian military infrastructure in Syria, according to Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman.





Tellingly, the Russians did nothing on the ground; their Mideast envoy, Mikhail Bogdanov, issued a neutral statement saying that the developments were “alarming,” that there was a need to de-escalate tensions, and that the situation distracts from the fight inside Syria against Islamic State.The working assumption in Jerusalem for weeks, since Iranian fighters were killed in two recent attacks in Syria attributed to Israel, was that Tehran would respond. The clear message coming from Jerusalem was that Israel would not let such a response go unanswered, and it would deliver a pulverizing counterpunch.It is highly likely that the nature of that counterpunch – perhaps not the exact targets to be attacked, but the breadth and magnitude of the operation – was discussed with the Russians to avoid, as Israel is meticulously trying to do, accidentally engaging the Russians and surprising Moscow.Nobody wants Israel to surprise them: not US President Donald Trump, and not Putin – and it is very much in Israel’s interests to have a good, open channel of communications with both men.Netanyahu speaks often about the close coordination that exists between the Israeli and Russian militaries and the good relationship he has developed with Putin – a relationship very much on display when the Russian president invited him to Moscow on Wednesday to watch the military parade marking the victory over Germany 73 years ago.And one of the reasons that relationship remains as good as it has is because there are few surprises. The Russians by now know very well what will trigger an Israeli response and what form that response is likely to take.So far the Russians have stayed out of the way and enabled Israel to act as it sees fit – and that is neither a given or something to be taken lightly.Netanyahu’s critics say if the premier’s relationship is so good with the Russian leader, and if the coordination is so close, then why doesn’t Putin put an end to Iran’s attempts to entrench itself in Syria?Russian diplomats, when asked this question, say Iran is a sovereign state over which Russia does not have control. Just as Moscow cannot tell Israel not to operate in Syria, they say, it cannot tell Iran not to operate there either.But what Moscow does obviously tell both sides is not to harm Russian interests or assets. The primary Russian asset in Syria is President Bashar Assad, in whose regime Moscow has invested millions of rubles and for whom Russian soldiers have been killed.Other assets include the Russian naval base at Tartus and the air base at Latakia.Russia enjoys good relations with Iran, just as it enjoys good relations with Israel. Putin meets periodically with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, just as he meets with Netanyahu, though perhaps not as much. But they do meet, and they do talk. For instance, the two men last met in April and before that last November.One can assume that just as Netanyahu from time to time entreats Putin to curb Iranian actions in Syria, Rouhani appeals to Putin to stop Israeli actions there also. Putin listens to both and does nothing against either side: He doesn’t curb Israel, and he doesn’t restrict Iran.As long as Russia’s interests are not harmed, from Putin’s point of view, this particular fight is not Russia’s. </s> Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Russian President Vladimir Putin that Israel will continue to take action against Iran in Syria, in the first significant meeting between the two since a major spat developed over a downed spy plane last year.

“The greatest threat to stability and security in the region comes from Iran and its proxies,” Netanyahu said. “We are determined to continue our aggressive activity against Iran, which calls for our destruction, and against its attempts to establish itself militarily in Syria.”

Israel and Russia have been at odds since September, when Syrian air defenses shot down a Russian reconnaissance plane while aiming at an Israeli jet that was targeting an alleged Iranian installation. The incident, which Moscow blamed Israel for, threatened to hamper Israel’s air campaign against Iranian entrenchment in Syria.

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Netanyhau had credited his close ties with Putin for the success of a system allowing Israel to carry out strikes in Syria without becoming entangled with Russia, which is allied with Syria’s President Bashar Assad, but those ties reportedly took a hit in the wake of the spy plane incident.

On Wednesday, Netanyahu again credited the system in place between Israel and Russia.

“I have counted 11 meetings between us since September 2016,” Netanyahu told Putin at the start of the meeting. “The direct link between us is the deconfliction mechanism that prevented conflict between our armies and contributed to security and stability in the region.”

Putin welcomed his Israeli guest, but did not specifically mention Iran or Syria in his remarks. “It is very important that we continue to cooperate. Russia was a supporter of the establishment of Israel. We are happy to talk about the situation in the region and the security issue,” Putin said.

After the spy plane incident, Russia dispatched advanced S-300 air defense batteries to Syria, raising concerns they could be used against Israeli planes. They have yet to be deployed, according to intelligence assessments.

Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes over the last several years to keep Iran from gaining a foothold in Syria and thwart the transfer of advanced weapons to Tehran-backed Hezbollah. Moscow has said it will keep Iran from the Israeli border, but has said it cannot push Iranian forces out of the country.

At the beginning of the their brief statements, Netanyahu invited Putin to come to Jerusalem to attend the unveiling of a monument in honor of Soviet soldiers who died during the siege of Leningrad in World War II.

“We will never forget the role Russia and the Red Army played in the victory over the Nazis,” Netanyahu said.

Putin immediately accepted the invitation, noting that the memory of the soldiers who died at Leningrad was “sacred.”

The Leningrad memorial is set to be erected in the capital’s Armon Hanatziv promenade, overlooking Jerusalem’s Old City. There is no date for the event yet.

Netanyahu also said his government had recently decided to fund a new museum dedicated to the half million Jewish World War II veterans who fought in the Red Army.

"Thank you, I will come", #Putin responded to #Netanyahu's invitation to participate in the opening of a monument to survivors, victims of the Siege of Leningrad in #Jerusalem. He added, Memory of people who died in #WWII and Leningrad Siege is sacred. https://t.co/qOX7KMZHQl pic.twitter.com/k5PcZMNH9b — Russia???????? in Israel (@israel_mid_ru) February 27, 2019

Earlier this year, the world marked the 75th anniversary of the end of the Leningrad siege, which lasted from September 1941 to January 1944. Hundreds of thousands of Russians died during the blockade by Nazi Germany, most of them from starvation.

Wednesday’s meeting in the Kremlin was also attended by Environmental Protection Minister Ze’ev Elkin, a former Soviet refusenik who translated Netanyahu’s remarks from Hebrew to Russian, National Security Adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat and head of Military Intelligence Tamir Hayman.

Netanyahu was set to fly back to Israel shortly after the meeting, cutting his trip short and canceling a planned event with Moscow’s Jewish community, reportedly to prepare for an expected indictment announcement against him in the coming days.

Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit is expected late this week or early next week to publish conclusions on three corruption cases against Netanyahu. Police have recommended bribery charges in all three, but the prime minister denies any wrongdoing.

Before taking off after midnight Wednesday, Netanyahu said he hoped deepen the “important, close and even intimate dialogue with the president of Russia, which is so important for the security of Israel.”

Netanyahu has spoken with Putin by phone and met with him on the sidelines of World War II commemorations in Paris in November, but the two have not held a formal sit-down since last July.

Their meeting was also their first since US President Donald Trump announced in December he would withdraw all American soldiers from Syria, in a move that was welcomed by Putin but raised concerns in Israel.

Agencies contributed to this report. </s> Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Russian President Vladimir Putin that Israel will continue to take action against Iran in Syria, in the first significant meeting between the two since a major spat developed over a downed spy plane last year.

“The greatest threat to stability and security in the region comes from Iran and its proxies,” Netanyahu said. “We are determined to continue our aggressive activity against Iran, which calls for our destruction, and against its attempts to establish itself militarily in Syria.”

Israel and Russia have been at odds since September, when Syrian air defenses shot down a Russian reconnaissance plane while aiming at an Israeli jet that was targeting an alleged Iranian installation. The incident, which Moscow blamed Israel for, threatened to hamper Israel’s air campaign against Iranian entrenchment in Syria.

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Netanyhau had credited his close ties with Putin for the success of a system allowing Israel to carry out strikes in Syria without becoming entangled with Russia, which is allied with Syria’s President Bashar Assad, but those ties reportedly took a hit in the wake of the spy plane incident.

On Wednesday, Netanyahu again credited the system in place between Israel and Russia.

“I have counted 11 meetings between us since September 2016,” Netanyahu told Putin at the start of the meeting. “The direct link between us is the deconfliction mechanism that prevented conflict between our armies and contributed to security and stability in the region.”

Putin welcomed his Israeli guest, but did not specifically mention Iran or Syria in his remarks. “It is very important that we continue to cooperate. Russia was a supporter of the establishment of Israel. We are happy to talk about the situation in the region and the security issue,” Putin said.

After the spy plane incident, Russia dispatched advanced S-300 air defense batteries to Syria, raising concerns they could be used against Israeli planes. They have yet to be deployed, according to intelligence assessments.

Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes over the last several years to keep Iran from gaining a foothold in Syria and thwart the transfer of advanced weapons to Tehran-backed Hezbollah. Moscow has said it will keep Iran from the Israeli border, but has said it cannot push Iranian forces out of the country.

At the beginning of the their brief statements, Netanyahu invited Putin to come to Jerusalem to attend the unveiling of a monument in honor of Soviet soldiers who died during the siege of Leningrad in World War II.

“We will never forget the role Russia and the Red Army played in the victory over the Nazis,” Netanyahu said.

Putin immediately accepted the invitation, noting that the memory of the soldiers who died at Leningrad was “sacred.”

The Leningrad memorial is set to be erected in the capital’s Armon Hanatziv promenade, overlooking Jerusalem’s Old City. There is no date for the event yet.

Netanyahu also said his government had recently decided to fund a new museum dedicated to the half million Jewish World War II veterans who fought in the Red Army.

Earlier this year, the world marked the 75th anniversary of the end of the Leningrad siege, which lasted from September 1941 to January 1944. Hundreds of thousands of Russians died during the blockade by Nazi Germany, most of them from starvation.

Wednesday’s meeting in the Kremlin was also attended by Environmental Protection Minister Ze’ev Elkin, a former Soviet refusenik who translated Netanyahu’s remarks from Hebrew to Russian, National Security Adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat and head of Military Intelligence Tamir Hayman.

Netanyahu was set to fly back to Israel shortly after the meeting, cutting his trip short and canceling a planned event with Moscow’s Jewish community, reportedly to prepare for an expected indictment announcement against him in the coming days.

Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit is expected late this week or early next week to publish conclusions on three corruption cases against Netanyahu. Police have recommended bribery charges in all three, but the prime minister denies any wrongdoing.

Before taking off after midnight Wednesday, Netanyahu said he hoped deepen the “important, close and even intimate dialogue with the president of Russia, which is so important for the security of Israel.”

Netanyahu has spoken with Putin by phone and met with him on the sidelines of World War II commemorations in Paris in November, but the two have not held a formal sit-down since last July.

Their meeting was also their first since US President Donald Trump announced in December he would withdraw all American soldiers from Syria, in a move that was welcomed by Putin but raised concerns in Israel. </s> JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu traveled to Moscow on Wednesday to meet with President Vladimir Putin and discuss military coordination amid new strikes in Syria blamed on Israel.

Together with Putin, Netanyahu toured a parade celebrating the anniversary of the World War II victory over the Nazis and then met the Russian president at the Kremlin for consultations. Netanyahu he said he was eager to discuss ways of "solving crises and removing threats in a thoughtful and responsible manner."

After 10 hours together, Netanyahu said he conveyed Israel's obligation to defend itself against Iranian aggression.

"I think that matters were presented in a direct and forthright manner, and this is important. These matters are very important to Israel's security at all times and especially at this time," he said.

Syrian state media said Israel struck a military outpost on Tuesday near the capital of Damascus. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the missiles targeted depots and rocket launchers that likely belonged to Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard in Kisweh, killing at least 15 people, eight of them Iranians.

Tensions between Israel and Iran are high over Iran's efforts to expand its military presence in Syria, where it is a key ally of President Bashar Assad. Repeated airstrikes attributed to Israel have killed Iranian fighters and prompted threats of reprisal from Tehran. President Donald Trump's announcement Tuesday that the U.S. would withdraw from the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran has triggered uncertainty and threatened to spark more unrest in the Middle East.

"The meetings between us are always important and this one is especially so," Netanyahu said ahead of his departure. "In light of what is currently happening in Syria, it is necessary to ensure the continued coordination" between the two militaries. Netanyahu made no mention of the overnight strikes.

The Israeli and Russian militaries have been in contact throughout much of Russia's intervention in Syria, where Moscow has waged an air campaign in support of Assad's forces since 2015. Russia also considers Iran a strategic ally.

Israel views Iran as its archenemy, citing Iran's calls for Israel's destruction, support for militant groups across the region and growing military activity in neighboring Syria. Israel has warned that it will not allow Iran to establish a permanent military presence in Syria.

Israel's military went on high alert Tuesday and bomb shelters were ordered open in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights following reports of "irregular activity of Iranian forces in Syria." After an uneventful night, the military on Wednesday called on residents to return to "full civilian routine," meaning studies and excursions would continue as usual, although the shelters would remain open.

Israel, which almost never confirms or denies airstrikes in Syria, did not comment on Tuesday's attack. Such strikes have become more frequent recently. The Syrian Observatory said the casualty number from Tuesday's strike is likely to go up because of a large number of people who were wounded and a number of people who are missing.

Iran has vowed to retaliate to recent Israeli strikes in Syria targeting Iranian outposts, including an attack last month on Syria's T4 air base in Homs province that killed seven Iranian military personnel. On April 30, Israel was said to have struck government outposts in northern Syria, killing more than a dozen pro-government fighters, many of them Iranians.

Amos Gilead, a retired senior Israeli defense official, told a security conference in the coastal town of Herzliya that Iran's intentions in Syria meant a wider conflagration may only be a matter of time.

"They want to build a second Hezbollah-stan," he said, referring to the Iranian-backed Lebanese Shiite militant group that last fought a war with Israel in 2006. "They are determined to do it and we are determined to prevent it. It means we are on a collision course." </s> JERUSALEM >> Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu traveled to Moscow on Wednesday to meet with President Vladimir Putin and discuss military coordination amid new strikes in Syria blamed on Israel.

Together with Putin, Netanyahu toured a parade celebrating the anniversary of the World War II victory over the Nazis and then met the Russian president at the Kremlin for consultations. Netanyahu he said he was eager to discuss ways of “solving crises and removing threats in a thoughtful and responsible manner.”

After 10 hours together, Netanyahu said he conveyed Israel’s obligation to defend itself against Iranian aggression.

“I think that matters were presented in a direct and forthright manner, and this is important. These matters are very important to Israel’s security at all times and especially at this time,” he said.

Syrian state media said Israel struck a military outpost on Tuesday near the capital of Damascus. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the missiles targeted depots and rocket launchers that likely belonged to Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guard in Kisweh, killing at least 15 people, eight of them Iranians.

Tensions between Israel and Iran are high over Iran’s efforts to expand its military presence in Syria, where it is a key ally of President Bashar Assad. Repeated airstrikes attributed to Israel have killed Iranian fighters and prompted threats of reprisal from Tehran. President Donald Trump’s announcement Tuesday that the U.S. would withdraw from the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran has triggered uncertainty and threatened to spark more unrest in the Middle East.

“The meetings between us are always important and this one is especially so,” Netanyahu said ahead of his departure. “In light of what is currently happening in Syria, it is necessary to ensure the continued coordination” between the two militaries. Netanyahu made no mention of the overnight strikes.

The Israeli and Russian militaries have been in contact throughout much of Russia’s intervention in Syria, where Moscow has waged an air campaign in support of Assad’s forces since 2015. Russia also considers Iran a strategic ally.

Israel views Iran as its archenemy, citing Iran’s calls for Israel’s destruction, support for militant groups across the region and growing military activity in neighboring Syria. Israel has warned that it will not allow Iran to establish a permanent military presence in Syria.

Israel’s military went on high alert Tuesday and bomb shelters were ordered open in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights following reports of “irregular activity of Iranian forces in Syria.” After an uneventful night, the military on Wednesday called on residents to return to “full civilian routine,” meaning studies and excursions would continue as usual, although the shelters would remain open.

Israel, which almost never confirms or denies airstrikes in Syria, did not comment on Tuesday’s attack. Such strikes have become more frequent recently. The Syrian Observatory said the casualty number from Tuesday’s strike is likely to go up because of a large number of people who were wounded and a number of people who are missing.

Iran has vowed to retaliate to recent Israeli strikes in Syria targeting Iranian outposts, including an attack last month on Syria’s T4 air base in Homs province that killed seven Iranian military personnel. On April 30, Israel was said to have struck government outposts in northern Syria, killing more than a dozen pro-government fighters, many of them Iranians.

Amos Gilead, a retired senior Israeli defense official, told a security conference in the coastal town of Herzliya that Iran’s intentions in Syria meant a wider conflagration may only be a matter of time.

“They want to build a second Hezbollah-stan,” he said, referring to the Iranian-backed Lebanese Shiite militant group that last fought a war with Israel in 2006. “They are determined to do it and we are determined to prevent it. It means we are on a collision course.”

Associated Press writer Zeina Karam in Beirut contributed to this report. </s> Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged Tuesday to continue combatting Iranian "entrenchment" in Syria and coordinating with Russia after the downing of one of Moscow's planes.

"We will continue to act to prevent the Iranian military entrenchment in Syria, and continue the security coordination between the Israel Defence Forces and Russian army," Netanyahu told reporters.

On September 17, Syrian air defences mistakenly shot down a Russian military plane following an Israeli raid in Syria, killing 15 people.

Moscow has blamed the friendly fire incident on Israeli pilots using the larger Russian plane as "cover".

Israel disputes the Russian findings and says its jets were back in Israeli airspace when the plane was downed.

Russia announced new security measures to protect its military in Syria, including supplying the Syrian army with an S-300 air defence system and jamming radars of nearby warplanes.

Those moves prompted Netanyahu on Monday to warn Putin against "transferring advanced weapons systems into irresponsible hands".

Speaking at the airport before travelling to New York for the United Nations General Assembly, Netanyahu stressed Israel's "great success" in preventing Iranian military entrenchment in Syria and the transfer of advanced arms to Hezbollah in Lebanon over the past three years.

"That doesn't mean that there weren't exceptions, but altogether it has been very successful," Netanyahu said.

"We did this with maximal and very successful security coordination with the Russian army."

Netanyahu also noted he had agreed with Putin to have Israeli and Russian military teams meet soon to enhance the coordination.

Russia and Israel set up a hotline in 2015 to avoid accidental clashes in Syria. Israel is now concerned Russia will seek to limit its actions there.

Israel's main enemy is Iran and it has pledged to stop it from entrenching militarily in neighbouring Syria.

Iranian-backed Hezbollah is also one of its enemies.

Both Iran and Hezbollah are supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime in his country's civil war alongside Russia. </s> TEL AVIV – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu landed in Moscow early on Thursday for a brief trip during which he is expected to discuss Syria and Iran with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

A planned event with Moscow’s Jewish community was cancelled and the Israeli premier will now return home on the same day after meeting with his Russian counterpart.

Israeli media reported that the trip was cut short over the indictment announcement that Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit is expected to make in the coming days. Netanyahu is said to want to be in Israel to deal with any potential fallout when Mandelblit publishes his conclusions on the three corruption cases faced by the prime minister.

Netanyahu said his talks with Putin were “very important” for Israel’s security and would focus on Iran’s attempts to entrench itself militarily in Syria.

“We are taking action against [Iran], we are attacking its bases and we will continue acting against it,” he said.

“We will continue acting until we get the Iranians out of Syria, because Iran is threatening to eradicate Israel and we will not let it have a military base near our border,” he added.

Netanyahu stated that he hoped to strengthen the “important, close and even intimate dialogue with the president of Russia, which is so important for the security of Israel.”

Putin, however, is reportedly seeking to spend at least some of the meeting discussing the conflict with the Palestinians.

The meeting marks the first time the two leaders have sat down for a formal meeting since Russia blamed Israel for the downing of its plane by Syrian air defenses and is also the first face-to-face since the Trump administration announced it was withdrawing U.S. troops from Syria.

Netanyahu has met with Putin more than any other world leader.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tells Russian President Vladimir Putin that Israel will "continue to take action against Iran in Syria".