Putin and Netanyahu meet on Syrian crisis

Israelis fear involvement of Russia could help Hezbollah

Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Russia, according to reports, Monday. The two leaders reportedly discussed the Syrian crisis and the concerns of Israel regarding the more active involvement of Russia in the conflict. Israelis fear that the supply of Russian military equipment could be used Hezbollah, who is currently fighting on the side of Syrian government forces against ISIS. Netanyahu said he visited Moscow to clarify his position in the conflict and in order to ‘avoid any misunderstandings between our forces’, referring to Russia and Israel. Putin, on his part reassured the Israeli PM that Russia’s policy in the Middle East will always be ‘prudent’ and that he would not attack Israel. Putin said that Syria could not open a second front against Israel in the state it is currently, in response to Netanyahu’s concerns that Iran and Syria would make that move, especially if they had the military weapons provided by Russia. Last week Moscow and Washington opened a direct line of talks between their military leaderships, in an effort to prevent the prospect of a direct conflict between their forces in the region. Israeli military sources say that the presence of Russian military airplanes will limit the ability of Israeli air force to operate freely over the area.