Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who is attending an international security conference in Moscow, held separate meetings with Russian officials, including his counterpart Sergey Shoygu and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. During those meetings, Israel’s top defense official expressed Jerusalem’s resolve in thwarting Iran’s attempts to concentrate both its own troops, as well as those of its proxy Hezbollah, on Syria’s southern Golan region that borders with Israel. Minister Lieberman also used the opportunity to convey Israel’s concerns with regard to Iran’s activity in Syria, in which it uses the Syrian territory as a base for smuggling arms to Hezbollah in Lebanon, a reality the Jewish state has declared as a decisive red-line.
The Israeli defense minister also praised a coordination mechanism between the IDF and the Russian forces in Syria, which he said had proven to be effective in preventing unnecessary friction between the armed forces of the two countries. Following the meeting between Lieberman and Lavrov, which was held behind closed doors, the Russian Foreign Ministry released a statement in which it said both top officials only discussed ‘some aspects of further strengthening of friendly relations between Moscow and Jerusalem.