Jerusalem – Russian President Vladimir Putin, making the first visit of a Kremlin leader to Israel, on Thursday defended his arms sales to Syria and nuclear fuel agreements with Iran as no threat to Israel.
During a day of tough talk between Putin and his hosts, Israeli officials also rebuffed as premature his proposal for a Middle East peace summit in Moscow and urged him to abort a proposed sale of armored personnel carriers to the Palestinian Authority.
In official statements, Israeli and Russian leaders retreated to the common ground of mutual agreement on the need to combat terrorism.
Despite many serious differences, they described the visit as a milestone in relations between Israel and Russia, once enemies on opposite sides of the Cold War.
“Not long ago, it would have been impossible to imagine a visit by the Russian head of state to Israel,” Putin said in a news conference with Israeli President Moshe Katsav.
Although business and trade relations between Moscow and Jerusalem have warmed significantly, Israeli officials say they are alarmed by recent agreements between Putin and two of Israel’s hostile neighbors, Syria and Iran.
Russia plans to sell air-defense missiles to Syria that would be mounted on trucks and have a range of less than 3 miles. Israeli leaders are concerned that the weapons could fall into the hands of terrorists and be used against Israel.
“I am aware of Israel’s concerns regarding the possibility that the missiles will reach the hands of terror organizations in Lebanon,” Putin said. “However, these concerns are groundless. The missiles we sold to Syria are short-range, anti-aircraft missiles.
“They do not threaten Israeli territory. For these missiles to hit you, you will need to enter Syrian territory. Do you want that?”
In October 2003, Israeli jets bombed a target they described as a militant training camp 10 miles from the Syrian capital of Damascus in retaliation for a suicide bombing in Haifa.
