Netanyahu: Friendship with Putin is important for Israel’s safety
A friendly relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin is important for Israel’s safety, stated Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reports the newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth.
He noted that he supports “frequent friendly contact” with Putin which is marked with “mutual respect.”
“This relationship is important for the safety of Israel,” stated the prime minister.
It was also reported that earlier Putin and Netanyahu scheduled their first meeting since the incident on September 17th, when the Russian Il-20 was shot down off the coast of Syria during an air raid by the Israeli Air Force. At the end of September, the Israeli prime minister intended to meet with the Russian president together with the Minister of Defense and Chairman of the Israeli National Security Council Meir Ben-Shabbat. However, the meeting did not take place, although Moscow denied media reports that they refused to accept Netanyahu.