BICOM

Russia’s ambassador to Israel has said that Moscow is working to prevent the transfer of Russian weapons to Hezbollah, after concerns were raised over cooperation with Iran, Syria and the Lebanese terrorist group.

Ambassador Alexander Shane said in an interview with the Interfax news agency that Russian leaders had promised Israel that Russian weapons would not be transferred to Hezbollah. He also suggested that Israel supports a deal between Russia and the United States to end the war in Syria.

He said: “Russia explained to Israel how it thinks the crisis in Syria can be solved in order to unite all forces in the war against terrorist groups and establish a steady future for Syria by Syrians themselves.”

Shane added that Israel understands what Russia is doing in Syria, but for them “the best thing that can happen is cooperation between Russia and the United States—and not Russia and Iran” to solve the crisis in Syria and the fight against terrorism in the Middle East.

Israel considers Iran and its proxies the greatest threat to its national security and the number one cause of regional instability.

Last week, Israel’s ambassador to Russia, Zvi Heifetz, told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee that an internal Russian investigation confirmed no weapons were being transferred to Hezbollah.

Israel has declared its commitment to stay out of direct involvement in the Syrian civil war, although it has clear red lines.

These include any transfer of strategic weapons, such as sophisticated Russian ground-to-air SA17/22 missiles, Iranian Fateh-110 rockets and the Russian SS-N-26 anti-ship Yakhont Cruise missile. Israel has reportedly conducted air strikes to prevent transfers from taking place.

A report published in January by the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) stated that Hezbollah represents the most serious conventional threat to Israel’s security.