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Netanyahu, Putin hail strong bilateral ties and cooperation
Israel’s and Russia’s head of State met in Moscow yesterday to discuss strategic issues, marking 25 years of diplomatic relations between their countries.
President Vladimir Putin gave PM Benjamin Netanyahu an unexpected personal tour of the Kremlin before their meeting. This was followed by a press conference in which Netanyahu said: “We discussed the continued coordination between our two militaries in the region, which already works quite well.”
During the past year Russia and Israel agreed a military mechanism to avoid unintended clashes in Syria while protecting their respective interests, where Moscow backs the Assad regime and Israel works to prevent arms transfers to Hezbollah. Putin said: “We spoke about the necessity to pool efforts to counter international terrorism. Israel knows only too well what it means and it is fighting against terrorism. In this sense, we are unconditional allies.”
Netanyahu added: “We want to avoid conflict and make sure we are operating against those same entities that endanger everyone.”
Providing an overall perspective of Israel-Russia ties, Putin said, “We place great importance on our relationship with Israel.” In response, Netanyahu said that although “today we marked the first 25 years of renewed relations” between Israel and Russia, his talks with Putin “focused mainly on looking ahead to the next 25 years” and cooperation “in the fields of technology, innovation, high-tech, economics, trade, tourism, and culture and in many other areas”.
Putin also called for a free trade zone between Israel and the Eurasian Economic Union. Turning to the prospects for peace between Israel and the Palestinians, Putin endorsed “achieving a just peace” and called for “continued efforts” from the Quartet of which Moscow is a member. Putin also said that the re-establishment of ties between Israel and Turkey would be “a positive outcome for all”.
During Netanyahu’s visit, an agreement was finalised on pensions for immigrants to Israel from the former-Soviet Union, while a memorandum of understanding over dairy produce was also signed.