BICOM

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said yesterday that Israeli strikes in Syria have endangered Russian troops.

In an interview with Spanish newspaper El Pais he was asked about Israeli-Russian relations after a Russian spy plane was shot down by Syrian forces in September. Lavrov said Israel does not “always strictly comply” with its obligations to inform Russia of its military airstrikes in Syria, as part of their agreed deconfliction mechanism.

Lavrov said: “On several occasions this endangered the lives of our military in Syria, for example, in the Israeli aerial bombardment in the region of Palmyra in March 2017, we warned in all ways and at the highest level [to the Israelis] that such an attitude could lead to tragic consequences. At the same time, we emphasise that acts of force contribute to increasing regional tension and cannot solve the security problems that concern Israelis.”

Noam Katz, a senior official in the Israeli Foreign Ministry, said yesterday that the Israeli military is “constantly cooperating through deconfliction channels” with its Russian ally.

According to an unnamed Israeli official, “the army’s coordination with the Russian army continues exactly as it did” before the September incident. Lavrov said that Russia “could not leave things as they were,” and “responded in a contained but firm manner”. Reports suggest Russia now insists that it receive further advance warning of Israeli strikes. Last month Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Israel “will not accept any restrictions on our freedom of operation, and when it comes to national security, we will take action”.

Yesterday Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met the US Special Representative for Syria, James Jeffrey. According to the Prime Minister’s Office, “the two discussed developments in Syria and efforts against Iranian aggression”.