Israel’s PM says reached compromise with Russia on Middle East

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed to have reached a compromise with Russian President Vladimir Putin on interests in the Middle East.

In an interview with the French LCI TV, Netanyahu said Iran wants to establish an army and deploy it in Syria near the Israeli border, claiming that “Tehran seeks to destroy the Jewish state and endanger its population by developing nuclear weapons.”

“In the beginning, I told Putin that we have a choice, we can go to confrontation or we can find a common language… Israel acts freely and we do not interfere in your actions in Syria, and you should leave us alone,” he said.

“We have found a compromise that serves Israel’s interests and therefore Putin thinks it does not threaten Russian interests,” he added.

Netanyahu also stressed that Israel does not want a military confrontation with Russia, but admitted that the two countries have “complicated relations”.

“This is due to the fact that on the border with Syria, Israeli and Russian planes fly very close to each other,” he said, noting that Tel Aviv needs freedom of action in the air, but that could lead to a confrontation with Moscow.

However, the Israeli prime minister stressed that he did not want events to develop into that.

During the interview, Netanyahu also spoke about peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia, noting that it “will lead to a realistic end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”

Regarding the Ukrainian crisis, he explained that “the Israeli government will discuss providing [the anti-missile defence system] Iron Dome to Ukraine, but I cannot guarantee with certainty that this scenario is what will happen.”

“We are studying this issue … we do not want a military confrontation with Russia,” he added.

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