Chill falls on Israeli-Russian relations over Syria
Güncelleme Tarihi:
A chill has descended on relations between Israel and Russia after Moscow reached out to the Jewish states arch foe Damascus against the backdrop of the Georgian conflict.
Israel, which maintains friendly, ties with Georgia and has sold weapons to the Eurasian country -- as have several western nations -- fears Moscow will exact a price for this support by boosting its ties with Syria.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad won promises of fresh arms sales during a visit to Russia this week. He said Moscow could again become a bulwark against the West and help resist Israeli influence in the Middle East.
Israel is particularly concerned Russia could deliver anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles to Syria, which could end up in the hands of Lebanon’s Syrian-backed Hezbollah militia whose political rhetoric centers on the destruction of the Jewish state.
"A reinforcement of links between Damascus and Moscow amount to a very negative development," said Tazhi Hanegvi, who heads the Israeli parliament’s foreign affairs and defense committee.
"It would push Syria to adopt an irresponsible and adventurist policy," he added.
On Thursday, Israeli President Shimon Peres warned that sending new weapons to Syria "would endanger peace in the world, not only in the Middle East."
A senior foreign ministry official, for his part, said Russia’s "forceful return on the international stage doesn’t guarantee in any way it will have a constructive role in the future of the Middle East."
"It is difficult to believe in the good faith of Moscow when it emerges, despite all of Moscow’s denials, that Russian weapons sold to Syria have reached Hezbollah," he told AFP under condition of anonymity.
Russian anti-tank missiles inflicted major losses to Israeli forces battling the Hezbollah militia in southern Lebanon in 2006.
But officials and analysts believe it is unlikely the current diplomatic malaise between Israel and Russia would deteriorate into a full-blown crisis.
"The only new element is that the (Israeli) military aid given to Georgia has given Russia an argument to sell weapons to Syria," said Amnon Sela a political analyst at the Interdisciplinary Center think-tank.
An Israeli daily said Prime Minister Ehud Olmert planned to travel to Moscow within two weeks, hoping to convince President Dmitry Medvedev not to sell weapons to Syria, though officials did not confirm the report.
A foreign ministry official stressed that Israel "has taken into account Russian demands that it limit its military aid to Georgia," and a Russian envoy in Tel Aviv welcomed what he said was the suspension of Israeli arms sales to Tbilisi.
Russian Charge d’Affaires Anatoli Yurkov pointed out Israel’s support to Georgia "is less important than that of the United States or France."
He also insisted that Russia will not deliver to Syria "any weapons that could alter the strategic balance" in the region.
Photo: AFP