Russia – Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday that focused on the situation in Syria, amid concerns that Moscow could soon provide Damascus with advanced missiles.
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Israeli officials have asked Russia to stop what they say is an imminent delivery of Russian S-300 air defense systems to Syria. Putin told Netanyahu at the start of their meeting in the Black Sea resort of Sochi that they would have a chance to talk about Syria. Neither leader mentioned the missiles in brief opening remarks.
Putin hailed what he described as close ties between the two countries, and Netanyahu responded in kind and invited Putin to make another trip to Israel.
Netanyahu added that the volatile situation in the Middle East requires action to improve security. “The region around us is very unstable and explosive, and therefore I am glad for the opportunity to examine together new ways to stabilize the area and bring security and stability to the area,” he said.
Russia has continued to ship weapons to Syria, despite the civil war there, but it so far has refrained from providing Damascus with the S-300s, a powerful weapon that has a range of up to 200 kilometers (125 miles) and the capability to track down and strike multiple targets simultaneously with lethal efficiency.
The weapon would mean a quantum leap in Syria’s air defense capability, including against neighboring countries that oppose Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime.
Israel attacked suspected shipments of advanced Iranian missiles in Syria with back-to-back airstrikes this month. Israeli officials signaled there would be more attacks unless Syria refrains from trying to deliver such “game-changing” missiles to ally Hezbollah, an anti-Israel militia in Lebanon and key Syrian ally. Hezbollah said weapons shipments won’t cease.
On Monday, Israeli Tourism Minister Uzi Landau accused Russia destabilizing the Middle East by selling weapons to Assad’s regime. “Anyone who provides weaponry to terror organizations is siding with terror,” Landau said.
If Putins allows these types of weapons to Syria then Russia aligns itself with an evil terrorist countriy that has slaughtered over 82,000 of its countrymen including men, women and children during the last two years.
Syrian Rebels in Cannibalistic Shock Video (Arutz Sheva)
This is reminiscent of the parading of body parts of an Israeli soldier in Gaza in May 2004. Just pure satanic darkness. Absolute evil manifest. It is difficult to accept that such evil exists in the world but if we choose to remain in denial and not face the truth about a situation the darkness continues. As Edmund Burke said, “All it takes for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing.” The key with hopeless looking situations is to try and have a vision of a better future. Supreme efforts must be made by all interested parties to stabilise Syria. The country is a vital piece of the Middle East jigsaw puzzle.
The idea of an International Peace Conference to address the problems in Syria is a worthy one which must be pursued. The key ingredients of a successful event are : Why – What is the intention; When; Where; How; Cost; Who – Organising Team; Support; Guests; How – Logisitics etc.; Duration; Flow and Format.
All these components of a successful meeting can be addressed if the will is there. Which paradigm should reign in the Middle East ? Vision, courage and trust building or myopia, cowardice and betrayal.