Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday that Israel will not stop to thwart any efforts to breach its borders, adding that Jerusalem was keeping a close eye on regional developments in Iran and Syria.
“We will not stop to act firmly against any violation of Israeli airspace or territory,” Netanyahu said ahead of a meeting between the two leaders in Moscow. “We expect everybody to respect our sovereignty and for Syria to carefully abide by the ceasefire agreements.”
Earlier in the day, Israel shot down what appeared to be a Syrian reconnaissance drone which entered Israeli airspace in the north of the country. The military said it had waited over 15 minutes before firing a Patriot missile at the drone, during which time officials verified that it was not being flown by Russia, which is providing military support to the Syrian regime.
The IDF confirmed that Israel had been in touch directly with Russian forces based in Syria in order to ensure that it was not their drone.
“Cooperation between us is a key element in preventing an escalation [of hostilities] and deterioration of the situation of one kind or another,” Netanyahu said.
“It’s clear that our focus is on Syria and Iran,” the prime minister added of the Wednesday evening meeting. “Our opinion is that Iran should leave Syria, but this isn’t something new for you.”
A smoke trail of a Patriot missile that intercepted a Syrian drone that entered Israeli airspace from Syria, as seen over the northern Israeli city of Safed on July 11, 2018. (David Cohen/Flash90)
It was the third time the two leaders have met in the last six months.
Both the United States and Israel are concerned about Iran’s growing military presence in Syria, where it has provided crucial aid to President Bashar Assad’s forces.
Israel has repeatedly said it will not allow Iran, or its Shiite proxies, to establish a permanent presence in postwar Syria. Tensions were brewing along the border in recent months, with Israel launching attacks on Iranian targets in Syria in response to Iranian rocket fire aimed at Israel.
In February, Israel said it intercepted an explosives-laden Iranian drone that flew into its airspace, triggering Israeli airstrikes on Iranian targets in Syria. An Israeli warplane was shot down during the reprisal.
Russia, another key ally of Assad, has warned it’s unrealistic to expect Iran to fully withdraw from the country but there have been signs of an emerging compromise.
Syrian president Bashar Assad, left, meets with Ali Akbar Velayati, an adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, in Damascus, Syria, Thursday, April 12, 2018. (SANA via AP)
Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was also traveling Wednesday to Moscow for a meeting with Putin.
Media reports suggested that at their meeting in Helsinki on Monday, Putin and US President Donald Trump could reach a deal that would envisage the deployment of Syrian government forces alongside the Israeli border and the withdrawal of Iranian forces and their proxy Hezbollah from the area.
While Russia and Iran have both deployed forces to Syria to help prop up Assad’s government, their interests don’t always converge. Russia also has maintained warm ties with Israel and demonstrated a readiness to take its security concerns into account. Israel and Russia have set up a coordination mechanism over Syrian airspace to avoid an inadvertent clash between their forces.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said in an interview with Italian newspaper Il Giornale published Wednesday that Moscow hopes that Israel and Iran will both display caution and avoid a showdown.
“Their use of military force in Syria would inevitably lead to an escalation of tensions across the entire Middle East region,” he said. “In that context, we rely on peaceful diplomatic means to resolve any differences and expect both sides to show restraint.”