Israeli PM to meet Putin for talks on Iran’s Syria role

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been busy lobbying the United States and its allies against Iran, is reportedly set to visit Russia for discussions on the Islamic Republic's role in Syria.Israel's Arutz Sheva media network cited Netanyahu as saying on Sunday that he planned to visit Moscow later this week.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that President Vladimir Putin was going to meet with Netanyahu on March 9, and with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on March 10.

"At the request of Damascus, Iran has been providing advisory assistance to the Syrian army in its battles against a host of foreign-backed Takfiri militant groups wreaking havoc across the Arab state.To the dismay of Israel, which is widely viewed as a staunch supporter of anti-Damascus Takfiri groups, Tehran has been playing an active role in the diplomatic process aimed at resolving the Syrian crisis.

Iran, Russia and Turkey mediated two rounds of talks between the Syrian government and opposition groups in the Kazakh capital, Astana, earlier this year, paving the way for the resumption of UN-led negotiations between the warring sides in Geneva.

Israel wants Syrian President Bashar al-Assad ousted. It has been offering medical treatment to terrorists fighting Syrian soldiers in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, claiming that it renders such services in areas "under its control."

It has repeatedly attacked Syrian military targets in what is viewed as an attempt to prop up terrorist groups in the face of Syrian army advances. Late last month, Israel's Channel 2 said the regime had sent its troops on repeated spying missions to a village located half a kilometer inside Syria's territory. The Israeli military has also deployed intelligence-gathering equipment in the Golan Heights to record movements by the Syrian military and foreign-backed militants.

According to the Arutz Sheva report, Netanyahu accused Tehran in his Sunday remarks of trying to "open a front" with Israel in Golan and warned that Tel Aviv could launch a preemptive strike.

"On Thursday, I will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. One of the most important issues we will discuss is Iran's attempt to make an agreement with Syria. With or without Syria's agreement, Iran will attempt to establish a permanent military presence in Syria, both on land and at sea," Netanyahu claimed.

Netanyahu also said that Israel has carried out dozens of strikes to prevent weapons smuggling to the Iranian-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah via Syria. Two years ago, Israel and Russia agreed to coordinate military actions over Syria in order to avoid accidentally trading fire."I hope that we'll be able to reach certain understandings to lessen the possible friction between our forces and their forces, as we've successfully done so far," he said at the cabinet meeting, referring to the Russian military