Baladi - Newspapers
The Times of Israel newspaper reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in Moscow Wednesday for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin — part of Syria-focused diplomatic efforts days ahead of a US-Russian summit.
Netanyahu said before boarding a flight to Moscow that he would have a “very important meeting” with Putin on Wednesday to “discuss Syria, Iran and Israel’s security needs.”
“I very much appreciate the excellent direct connection, without intermediaries, between myself and the Russian president,” Netanyahu said.
Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was also traveling to Moscow for a meeting with Putin, the newspaper said.
Both the United States and Israel are concerned about Iran’s growing military presence in Syria, where it has provided crucial aid to President Bashar Assad’s forces.
Israel has repeatedly said it will not allow Iran, or its Shiite proxies, to establish a permanent presence in postwar Syria, it addsed.
Russia, another key ally of Assad, has warned it’s unrealistic to expect Iran to fully withdraw from the country but there have been signs of an emerging compromise.
The newspaper sees that Putin and Trump, at their meeting in Helsinki on Monday, could reach a deal that would envisage the deployment of Syrian government forces alongside the Israeli border and the withdrawal of Iranian forces and their proxy Hezbollah from the area, adding that the interests of Russia and Iran don't always converge, despite their backing for Assad forces in Syria.
Source: The Times of Isreal