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Putin reassures Netanyahu

September 23, 2015 at 5:50 pm

In a rare move, Benjamin Netanyahu recently took two generals with him on his visit to Russia: Chief of General Staff of the Israel Defence Forces Gadi Eizenkot and Israeli Intelligence Chief Herzl Halevi. It has been said in Israel that the visit aims to reinforce cooperation and to raise the level of coordination between the two countries in the context of Russia’s activity in Syria.

Netanyahu and Putin met on Monday in Moscow’s suburbs and they discussed what Putin’s office called “the growingly complex situation on the northern borders.” In Putin’s presence, Netanyahu voiced his concerns regarding the fact that “Iran and Syria are arming the extremist Muslim terror group Hezbollah with advanced weaponry, which is pointed at us and has already been fired at us over the years — thousands of missiles and rockets on our cities,” adding that there is an attempt under the auspices of the Syrian army to build a second “terror front” against Israel from the Golan heights.

Netanyahu quickly switched from being the complainer to defending the attacks in Syria and the interferences to stop weapons reaching Hezbollah under the pretext of “preventing the establishment of an anti-Israel front”. He added, “I thought it was very important that I come here, both to clarify our policy and to make sure there are no misunderstandings between our forces.” Putin listened to Netanyahu’s words and responded by saying: “All of Russia’s actions in the region have always been very responsible. We are aware of the issue of bombardments of Israel [with rockets] and reject all such bombardments. To my knowledge, these bombardments are carried out by homemade systems. With this, we understand Israel’s concerns. We never forget that a great many expats from the former Soviet Union live in the State of Israel, and that has a special impact on relations between the countries.”

In an expression of his gratitude, Netanyahu said that: “In all the contact between us, whether we agreed with each other or whether we didn’t quite fully agree with one another, the dialogue between us has always had the atmosphere of mutual respect and I’m sure that it will be the same this time.”

We are currently facing a world order in which global powers do not have a problem with Israel, nor are they concerned with having an objective stance towards the Jewish state’s behaviour opposed to Western and Russian allies in the region. In a meeting between Russia and Israel, all of the talk of opposition and the “axis of resistance” becomes ironic. With regards to Hezbollah, the Arab parties are blamed and the Russians understand Israel’s concern; however, Hezbollah’s continued interfere in Syria poses little problem for the status quo. As for Israel’s false complaints about the fire they are under, such accusations can be countered by saying that its policies are poisoning the region’s atmosphere and that it is led by a government that is committed to occupation, neo-colonial settlement and human rights violations.

In this context, Putin has reassured his friend Netanyahu that his protection of the Syrian government does not necessarily mean he is protecting of a state that is hostile towards Israel or that he is rescuing a government thinking of fighting Israel. Meanwhile, Netanyahu knows that the discourse of the “axis of resistance and opposition” is empty talk and he does not pay it any attention.

It is both interesting and sad that the blood of the Arabs has no value in the meeting between the Russians and the Israeli occupation. They focused on the fire that came from the Syrian borders only in so far as it threatens either state’s interests. As for the mass killing of the Syrian people with Russian weapons and the tragic mass displacement of civilians, this has not moved Putin or affected his conscience, and has, of course, been welcomed by Netanyahu. Despite this sort of relationship between the Russians and Israelis and all of Russia’s reassurances to Israel, as well as the coordination in order to avoid “misunderstandings between the forces”, we still hear talk of the “superficial Arabs” who continue to defend Al-Assad’s government and are hopeful towards Putin’s government.

Translated from Al Araby Al Jadeed, 23 September 2015.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.