Russian President Vladimir Putin’s dramatic announcement on Monday that he is starting to withdraw his forces from Syria on Tuesday (today) has caught the world off guard, but particularly Israeli President Reuven Rivlin who is flying to Moscow for a state visit on Tuesday, and was scheduled for a Wednesday meeting with Putin and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, Ma’ariv reported.
Originally, Rivlin was briefed by Prime Minister Netanyahu and the heads of the security branches, in preparation for a discussion with the Russian leader of coordinating the activities of the IDF and the Russian forces in Syria. But now, after Putin’s surprise announcement, it isn’t clear whether Rivlin should be the man to conduct that discussion.
And so, on Monday night, Rivlin entered an emergency set of briefings with his aides and security advisers, in an attempt to analyze and comprehend the implications of the Russian pullout for Israel.
According to Ma’ariv, President Rivlin will use his talks at the Kremlin to share Israel’s concerns that state-of-the-art Russian weapons would find their way into Hezbollah’s possession.
Another topic of discussion will be the creation of a free trade zone for Israel and the Eurasian Economic Union, which comprises Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. Israel will be the first Western state to join the EEU. Over the past decade, Russian-Israeli trade has increased significantly, and Russia today is among Israel’s top trading partners.
This sharp rise in bilateral trade activity is the result of a trade preference agreement between Russia and Israel, an agreement to avoid double taxation, and cooperation agreements in agriculture, technology and healthcare.
President Rivlin is also scheduled to visit Jewish and Russian culture and heritage sites, including the Jewish Museum, the Center for Tolerance, and the tomb of the unknown soldier, where the Israeli head of state, accompanied by Moscow’s military governor, will lay a wreath. Rivlin will also visit the Russian State Library, where he will be shown the David Ginzburg collection of thousands of ancient Hebrew manuscripts.