The United States’ EUCOM commander, General Curtis Scaparrotti, arrived in Israel this morning for an official state visit, during which he met with IDF Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Gadi Eizenkot. During the course of their meeting, the two Generals discussed a variety of regional issues, including the developments in the Syria conflict, Egypt’s ongoing confrontation against the Islamic State in the northern Sinai Peninsula – not far from the border with Israel, the war against Islamic terrorism in the region at large, as well as shared challenges and cooperation.
The IDF released a statement in which it defined the nature of Scaparrotti’s visit, saying it “reinforces the strong and enduring US-Israel defense relationship and continues the cooperation between the two militaries.” The visit of General Scaparrotti, which comes ahead of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s visit to Russia, also aims at further understanding Jerusalem’s military cooperation with Moscow, considering the EUCOM commander’s declared mandate, “to deter Russian aggression,” against US foreign assets and allies.