Putin says important to discuss Middle East security issues with Israeli PM

MOSCOW, February 27. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to discuss Middle East security issues with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as he himself said, opening their meeting on Wednesday. "It is very important to discuss the situation in the region and talk about security issues," the Russian president said. Putin noted that Russia and Israel "agreed to hold this meeting a while ago." "Life goes on and requires us to hold such high-level consultations," he added. Putin also pointed to increasing trade between the two countries. "It’s not that big in absolute terms but the trend is positive," he said. The Russian president and the Israeli prime minister were initially expected to hold talks in Moscow on February 21. However, the Jerusalem Post reported on Wednesday that Netanyahu’s visit to Russia "was postponed at the last minute." According to the newspaper, "no reason for the postponement was given to India, although it was also assumed to have been connected to the election campaign" as early parliamentary elections are scheduled to take place in Israel on April 9. It is Netanyahu’s first visit to Russia following the downing of Russia’s Ilyushin Il-20 aircraft over the Mediterranean Sea on September 17, 2018. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the aircraft disappeared from radar during an airstrike that four Israeli F-16 fighter jets carried out on targets in the Syrian province of Latakia. The ministry stated that the aircraft had been accidently downed by Syrian air defenses as the Israeli F-16 jets had been using it as cover. The Israeli Air Force and those who made the decision to use the Il-20 aircraft as cover are solely to blame for its crash, Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov said. On November 11, 2018, Putin and Netanyahu held a brief meeting in Paris. A few days later, the Russian president said at a press conference in Singapore that they had discussed the Il-20 incident. Read more