PM expected to meet Putin later this week
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to fly to Sochi on Thursday, just five days before Election Day, to discuss strengthening the security cooperation between the two countries in Syria.
“Later this week, it is very likely that I will be in Russia in order to discuss with President [Vladimir] Putin the continuation of military coordination so as to prevent a collision given the upsurge in activity against us by Iran and its proxies, and our increased activity against them,” Netanyahu said at the weekly cabinet meeting.
Netanyahu last met Putin in April, five days before the previous election, when he thanked the Russian president for assistance in returning the remains of IDF Sgt. Zachary Baumel to Israel.
Netanyahu said last week that efforts were under way to arrange for another trilateral summit in Jerusalem of US, Russian and Israeli security officials to discuss the removal of Iranian forces from Syria. The first such meeting took place in June in Jerusalem.
The trip to Russia, if it takes place, will be the second trip abroad in a week, as Netanyahu made a lightning visit to London on Thursday. He met there with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, British Secretary of State for Defense Ben Wallace and US Defense Secretary Mark Esper.
“The discussions, almost all of them, mainly dealt with Iran and Iran’s proxies, especially Hezbollah, and the necessary steps by Israel, those that have been carried out and those that will be carried out, in coordination – first and foremost – with the US,” he said.