Israel’s Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is including Russia in the circle of nations involved in talks over how to deal with the regional issues created by the Syrian crisis.
Next week Netanyahu plans to travel to Moscow to discuss those issues facing Israel and other nations in the area with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“The prime minister will present the threats to Israel emanating from the increased flow of advanced weaponry to the Syrian arena and from the transfer of lethal weaponry to Hezbollah and other terrorist groups,” an Israeli official told Reuters on Wednesday.
Russia has been expanding its military deployment in Syria, with hundreds of new prefab barracks and a new mobile air traffic control center delivered last week to Latakia.
Support by the Kremlin for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is nothing new, however; Russia has maintained a steady supply of weaponry to Israel’s northern neighbor since the start of the civil war in 2011.
Prior to the war, Russia was a strong sponsor of Syria’s military and economic enterprise, as well as an active partner in the country’s development of its oil and other natural energy resources.