Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday said he will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on February 21, nearly five months after the Syrian military downed a Russian plane while firing at Israeli jets, severely straining diplomatic relations between Israel and Russia.
Netanyahu announced the trip Tuesday during a press conference with visiting Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen. It will be his third meeting with Putin since July.
The meeting will revolve around Israel's demand to remove Iran and its Shiite proxies from Syria and to curb Iranian belligerence in general.
"It's very important that we continue to prevent Iran from entrenching in Syria. In many ways, we blocked that advance. But we are committed to continuously blocking it, continuously preventing Iran from creating another war front against us right here opposite the Golan Heights," Netanyahu said on Tuesday.
The impending summit comes on the heels of Netanyahu's meeting in Jerusalem last week with Russia's Special Envoy for Syria Alexander Lavrentiev and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin.
Those talks focused on Iran, Syria and "strengthening the security coordination mechanism" between the Russian and Israeli militaries to prevent friction, the PMO said.
The Russian officials, the Prime Minister's Office statement added, "reiterated Russia's commitment to Israel's national security."
At the same time, as the situation in Syria continues to stabilize, Russia is applying more pressure on Israel to limit its airstrikes on Iranian militias because they weaken Syrian President Bashar Assad.
Iran warned Israel on Tuesday of a "firm and appropriate" response if it continued attacking targets in Syria.
In a meeting with Syria's Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem in Tehran, the secretary of Iran's National Security Council Ali Shamkhani said the Israeli attacks violated Syria's territorial integrity and were unacceptable.
"If these actions continue, we will activate some calculated measures as a deterrent and as a firm and appropriate response to teach a lesson to the criminal and lying rulers of Israel," Shamkhani was quoted as saying by Fars news agency.
Strengthening ties with Austria
Netanyahu, meanwhile, praised Van der Bellen for his actions to combat anti-Semitism, bolster ties with Israel and take responsibility for Austrian war crimes during the Holocaust. The prime minister also noted that Austria had refused to host the European Union's recent talks with Iran aimed at bypassing U.S. economic sanctions against the Islamic republic.
"We want to commend you and Chancellor [Sebastian] Kurz for the very strong statement and very strong position you've taken on the truth, on history, on anti-Semitism," Netanyahu said. "The president of Austria and the chancellor of Austria, I think, have been exemplary in putting out a simple truth – that anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism are one. …
"The greatest challenge that we face is undoubtedly from radicalism and fanaticism that seeks to bring the world back to medieval ages. Here in the Middle East we face the two forces, the great forces of militant Islam: The militant Sunnis led by [ISIS] and militant Shiites led by Iran and its proxies.
"We are committed to blocking their advance and in so doing, we are defending not only ourselves but in many ways, defending Europe," Netanyahu said.
Van der Bellen also met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah on Tuesday and expressed his support for a two-state solution with Israel.
