BICOM

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will fly to Moscow today, in order to meet President Vladimir Putin to discuss the implications of Russia’s recent deployment in Syria.

Last week, Putin confirmed Israeli and American assessments that Russia is increasing its military presence in Syria in support of the Assad regime. Putin told a conference, “We support the government of Syria in its effort to counter terrorist aggression … We provide and will continue to provide military assistance.”

Moscow has been a staunch supporter of President Assad since the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War. However, in recent weeks it is thought that Russia has sent a number of battle tanks to Syria and that Moscow is planning on establishing a base at Latakia, having already despatched military advisers and technicians in support of the Assad regime. Haaretz suggest that Russian Sukhoi 27 jets are already in northern Syria to ensure Russian air superiority.

In a rare occurrence, Netanyahu will be accompanied today by IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot and Military Intelligence chief Herzl Halevy, underscoring Israel’s concerns that advanced Russian military hardware in Syria could end up in the hands of Hezbollah, which has previously used Russian-made Kornet and Yakhount missiles against Israel. Netanyahu’s office said last week that he “will present the threats posed to Israel as a result of the increased flow of advanced war material to the Syrian arena and the transfer of deadly weapons to Hezbollah and other terror organisations.”

In addition, Netanyahu is thought to be keen to work out how to avoid what Yediot Ahronot calls “nightmarish scenarios, such as one in which IAF [Israel Air Force] and Russian Air Force jets engage in air-to-air combat, or an erroneous IAF strike on Russia ground forces.” It is thought that Israel has carried out a number of air raids over Syria since the four-year civil war began, in order to prevent arms transfers to Hezbollah in neighbouring Lebanon.