(Ynet News) Ron Ben-Yishai - On Friday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Rybakov announced that Russia is not exactly an ally of the Iranians and that Israel's security must also be taken into account. Such a statement can be seen as a diplomatic turning point. Curious as it sounds, Russia needs Israel more than it needs Iran. The Russians have recently come to the realization that Israel is willing to go to the wire to thwart Iranian consolidation in Syria, the plan to improve Hizbullah's precision missiles in Lebanon, and the Iranian forces in Syria. The Israeli decision to end its veil of ambiguity over its Syria strikes definitely contributed to this realization. The Russians have apparently come to the conclusion that the Iranians are dragging Israel into attacks in Syria, which could hamper Russia in fulfilling its strategic goal of stabilizing Assad's regime. The Kremlin thinks that the Iranians have behaved badly of late. Reports that Qassem Suleimani, commander of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, was spotted on a tour in southern Syria, 40 km. from the Israel-Syria border, meant a blatant violation of Iran's commitment to Russia and Putin's public declaration that the Iranians and their proxies would keep 80 km. from the Israeli border. Israel gave Russia public proof that the Iranians had broken their promise. Putin apparently decided to let the Iranians know that they had to meet their commitments.
2019-01-28 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive