On the eve of voting, Netanyahu in Sochi praises cooperation with Russia
Netanyahu said there is “a human bridge between Israel and Russian-speaking countries, because we have more than a million people from the former Soviet Union, and their contribution is tremendous.”
By HERB KEINONPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin, Moscow on April 4th, 2019(photo credit: KOBI GIDEON/GPO)
Israel is working continuously to ensure that the IAF retains freedom of action in combating Iran's efforts to entrench itself in the region, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday in Sochi after meeting Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.Netanyahu, who flew to Russia for the day for meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Shoigu, said in an uploaded video after those talks that it was critical to prevent accidental clashes between the Israeli and Russian forces operating in the area. Following the meeting with Shoigu, he went to meet Putin.“This is what we do in meetings like these, and in the many telephone conversations we have between us,” he said.Indicating that there is a political element to this trip, Netanyahu stressed in his brief video that there is “a human bridge between Israel and Russian-speaking countries, because we have more than a million people from the former Soviet Union, and their contribution is tremendous,” he said.Netanyahu said that the immigrants’ contribution in creating the special connection with Moscow is “very important to Israel's security.”Putin's decision to fly to Russia just five days before the election has been interpreted as an attempt to woo to the Likud elder Russian-speaking immigrants in Israel who are an important base of support for Avigdor Liberman's Yisrael Beytenu party.
