World Jewish News

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) shakes hands with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow on February 27, 2019. (MAXIM SHEMETOV / POOL / AFP)

Israel denies new Russian offer to host Netanyahu-Abbas peace talks

An Israeli official on Monday denied that Russia had offered, during the prime minister’s visit to Moscow last week, to host a summit meeting between Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. A statement from the Russian embassy in Tel Aviv earlier in the day said that the issue had been raised during the trip. Quoting Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, the statement said that “during Prime Minister Netanyahu’s visit to Moscow, the situation in the Israeli-Palestinian settlement was discussed. We reaffirmed our position on Russia’s interest in overcoming the deadlock in this matter as soon as possible. “Our proposal to host leaders of Israel and Palestine remains relevant. We believe that it would be at least a very important step in restoring confidence. Without this, it is impossible to count on further progress in the Israeli-Palestinian settlement,” it said. But in response, a senior Israeli diplomatic official told Hebrew media that “the issue was never discussed.” Netanyahu made a one-day trip to Moscow last week for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which he said focused on Israel’s attempt’s to stop the Iranian entrenchment in Syria and improve ties with Moscow, frayed since the downing of a Russian plane over Syria during an Israeli strike in September. Even though the plane was shot down by Syrian air defense, Moscow blamed Israel, saying the IAF used the Russian aircraft as cover and did not give the Russians proper warning. Israel denies both charges. Netanyahu has credited his close ties with Putin for the success of a system allowing Israel to carry out strikes in Syria without becoming entangled with Russia, which is allied with Syria’s President Bashar Assad, but those ties reportedly took a hit in the wake of the spy plane incident. Putin welcomed his Israeli guest, but did not specifically mention Iran or Syria in his remarks. “It is very important that we continue to cooperate. Russia was a supporter of the establishment of Israel. We are happy to talk about the situation in the region and the security issue,” Putin said. Russia’s offer to host a Mideast summit is longstanding, but has not been taken up, with Israel maintaining that only the US can mediate the conflict. However, Palestinian ties with the US are at an all-time low, even as the Trump administration gears up to launch its peace plan, probably after the Israeli elections in April. By TOI STAFF and AGENCIES

The Times of Israel