BICOM

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow today to discuss strengthening coordination between Israel and Russia on Syria and other security issues in the region.

The visit is only expected to last five hours. Joining Netanyahu in the meeting is his cabinet colleague Zeev Elkin, the Russian speaking minister in charge of Jerusalem affairs and environmental protection.

Speaking during his weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, Netanyahu said he intends to discuss “the various developments in the region”.

He said the issues on the agenda include tightening the security coordination between the IDF and the Russian army in Syria, and “a series of other issues which are important, and even very important, for Israel’s security”. Israel is concerned that any long-term arrangements for Syria would allow Iranian forces to remain on the ground once the civil war ends.

The two leaders have spoken several times since 2015, when Russia became militarily involved in Syria. They last met in Sochi in August 2017, when Netanyahu warned about Iran trying to establish itself militarily in Syria.

Netanyahu and Putin are also expected to discuss the Iranian nuclear deal, of which Russia is a signatory. Netanyahu met US President Donald Trump at the World Economic Forum in Davos last Thursday, where he thanked Trump for his stance against the nuclear deal and his promise to “fix” the deal.

In related news, a report by Amos Harel in Haaretz discusses the latest IDF document outlining its strategy and challenges facing it. According to Harel, the document points to the Shi’ite militia from Iran, which includes Hezbollah in Lebanon, as the most significant threat to Israel.

The document notes that Iran has been instrumental in strengthening Shi’ite influence and the possibility of a potential conventional warfare threat by deploying Shi’ite militias along Israel’s border with Syria on the Golan Heights.