WarSclerotic

Netanyahu heading to Russia to warn of Syria aid threats Prime minister to explain dangers of weapons falling into the hands of Hezbollah in meeting with Putin By AP and Josefin Dolsten September 16, 2015, 3:02 pm

Source: Netanyahu heading to Russia to warn of Syria aid threats | The Times of Israel

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will travel to Russia next week to speak with President Vladimir Putin about the deployment of Moscow’s forces to Syria and the threats to Israel caused by weapon deliveries to Damascus, his office said Wednesday.

Netanyahu will discuss the dangers Israel faces if Hezbollah and other terror groups obtain Russian advanced weapons shipments, according to a government press release.

Russian government spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that the meeting was to to take place on Monday, Sputnik News reported.

Israel opposes Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime, but has mostly sought to avoid being dragged into the conflict in neighboring Syria.

Russia has recently stepped up military aid to Damascus, despite protestations from the US and elsewhere.

Moscow has been one of Syria’s staunchest backers throughout the civil war, along with Iran and Tehran’s Lebanese proxy terror group Hezbollah.

Lebanon’s powerful Shiite movement Hezbollah, with which Israel fought a devastating 2006 war, is a staunch ally of Assad and has sent fighters to support his forces.

A number of airstrikes inside Syria attributed to Israel over the past several years were apparently aimed at keeping advanced weaponry from being transferred to Hezbollah.

Israel has also expressed fears that the nuclear deal reached between six world powers, including Russia, and Iran could see money freed up as sanctions are lifted flowing to Hezbollah and other terror groups.

Israeli security officials said last week that Iran and Russia had sent troops to Syria to support Assad’s regime, according to Channel 2.

Relations between Israel and Russia have been negatively affected by Moscow’s willingness to sell military equipment to Iran, which has said it seeks to destroy the Jewish state.

Netanyahu last traveled to Moscow in 2013 to lobby Putin to cancel the sale of the advanced S-300 air defense system to Iran, though that effort failed.

The US has also expressed its concern to Russia regarding an alleged recent increase in military buildup in Syria, including apparent moves to set up an airbase near Latakia, an Assad stronghold near where Russia once maintained a naval base.

Moscow, however, denied the reports as false and said its aid to the Syrian government was nothing out of the ordinary.

 File photo: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin at Netanyahu’s residence in Jerusalem on June 25, 2012. (Photo credit: Kobi Gideon/GPO/FLASH90)

US Secretary of State John Kerry Tuesday made a third phone call to his Russian counterpart, in which he warned that aid to the Syrian regime would only prolong the conflict in the war-torn country.

Putin had earlier defended Russia’s military assistance to Assad’s government, saying it was impossible to defeat the Islamic State group without cooperation with Damascus and urging other countries to join the cause.

The Obama administration said last week that any strategy to support Assad was “doomed to failure.”

US military officials said on Monday that Russia appeared to be establishing a forward air base in Syria and had sent tanks and artillery to defend it.

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