Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a news conference at the Bocharov Ruchei residence in Sochi yesterday.
MOSCOW: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday on an apparent mission to warn Moscow against sending arms to Syria as alarm grows over the spiralling death toll in the conflict.
In their concluding remarks following talks at the Russian strongman’s Black Sea residence in Sochi, the two leaders were intent on giving little away about their closed-door meeting.
Israel wants Russia to halt supplies of formidable S-300 missiles which would severely complicate any future air attacks against the regime of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad.
Netanyahu did not mention the sensitive weapons issue in public but Putin warned against any destabilising moves in the Middle East, days after Israeli forces launched air strikes against regime targets in Syria.
“In this crucial period it is especially important to avoid any moves that can shake the situation,” Putin said in televised remarks.
Netanyahu stressed meanwhile it was his country’s task to defend its citizens.
The Israeli prime minister added: “Together we are trying to find ways to strengthen stability and security, it’s important both for you and us.”
The West and Israel are particularly concerned about Russia’s refusal to rule out deliveries to Syria of advanced S-300 missile batteries under an existing contract amid growing concerns over a war that activists say has claimed at least 80,000 lives.
The issues on Tuesday’s agenda had some parallels to a trip Netanyahu made to Moscow in September 2009 for Kremlin talks deemed so sensitive that the visit was kept secret at the time.
According to Israeli media, Netanyahu is believed on that trip to have raised fears about a Russian plan to deliver S-300s to Iran that Moscow decided in the end not to fulfil.
Meanwhile, Syrian rebels including the Al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front have counter-attacked east of Damascus to retake a town that served as a conduit for arms from Jordan into the capital before it was seized by government forces last month, rebel sources said.
The rebels’ struggle to end four decades of Assad family rule has been complicated in part by internal divisions along ideological and political lines, as well as a shortage of heavy weaponry that could decisively turn the tide of conflict.
But in a rare move, brigades operating in Ghouta, a largely agricultural region on the eastern outskirts of Damascus, have united under one command to wrest back the town of Otaiba, 3km northeast of Damascus international airport.
“This is a huge target no brigade can deliver on its own, even Al Nusra cannot do it alone, so we all agreed to unite to retake it,” said a commander whose brigade is one of the 23 taking part in the battle.
“With God’s will this will be a decisive battle in rural Damascus that will stop the advance of the regime army and reopen the supply route.”
Brigades from the Western-backed rebel General Command and Islamist units joined forces over the weekend and pledged to share weapons and fighters. They took as their flag a white banner with the Muslim declaration of faith: “There is no god but God; Mohammad is God’s prophet”.
“We are fighting for the same goal and that is to topple Assad — so why shouldn’t we unite?” said a commander from an Islamist brigade involved in the battle.
Rebels said they wanted to take advantage of the unusual unity among brigades in the latest campaign — named Al Furqaan after a chapter in the Holy Quran — to press on to Damascus airport.
The bloc of brigades was agreed only for the current battle, the rebels said, but it was driven by a heavy setback last month when their feuding and failure to reinforce local fighters allowed government forces to advance.
“How could they allow the loss of their supply line? How could they all just sit there and watch the regime throttling their lungs?” said a rebel from Otaiba. “Now they are paying the price - some shipments that were delivered earlier are stuck and need a path so they have to open the route.”
In addition to Al Nusra Front, Islamic groups like the powerful Liwaa Al Islam, Liwaa Martyrs of Douma and Ossoud Al Allah are also in the union under the command of Abu Salah Taha, head of the Martyrs of Douma.
Agencies
