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Opinion
October 12, 2018 www.intellinews.com I Page 24
Russians protect, if they endanger the state of Israel.
BA: Israel has been in Syria for about a year and is specifically targeting Hezbollah, Iranians and those Syrians that offer assistance to either of them. But this confuses the picture as it introduces another military player into the game with a specific set of interests.
EO: What can we do? It’s complex – yes. But we can’t ignore it. Can we rely on the Americans? Are they present in this area? No, they are not. They seem to have given up their desire to be the major player in this part of the world. It’s not a criticism. It's a fact.
BA: Doesn't that hugely change the political map of the region?
EO: I don't know if it hugely changes it, but it has an impact.
BA: The US drawback has created an opportunity and Russia has moved in.
EO: Is this the first time that Russia has had a military presence in Syria? No. So there is nothing dramatically new. Russia was in Syria before the 1973 war. And a Russian plane was shot down then over Syria. We have a history of conflicts. Now they have taken the opportunity that was created by the weakness of the Syrian government and they came in again to establish an exit to the Mediterranean via Syria.
BA: The Russians and the Iranians have become much closer. Is that a relationship that worries you or is it just a Great Game?
EO: It's a game. Don't lose track of the proportions. Is Russia really getting so much closer to Iran? They provided Iran with nuclear fuel for the Bushehr power station and the S300 missile system. Russia has had relations with Iran for many years and always wanted the option of having influence in that part of the world at the
expense of American influence.
I had many discussions with President Vladimir Putin about Iran and about Russia’s intentions in the region and the supply of the S300 to Iran. At the time he refrained from supplying the S300 to Iran because he said I convinced him not to do it.
Russia uses Iran for its own ends. Russia will not allow Iran to endanger the state of Israel. This is my conviction. It's a pragmatic relation and there is no ideology to it.
Russia will not stop Iran from attacking Israel. But it will not assist Iran in that attack. If Israel attacks Iran then Russia will not intervene to prevent our attacks. We have been attacking Iran in Syria for the last year, hundreds of times, and Russia didn't intervene. We have created a special communications system to let the Russians
know when we are coming to avoid precisely
what happened a few weeks ago [when Syrian air defence accidentally shot down a Russian bomber during an attack by an Israel jet fighters on a target in Syria].
BA: What is Putin’s goal? Russia is not a natural ally of the Arab World. What does he hope to achieve?
EO: The Middle East is an important region that has always been of great interest to Russia. Putin told me many times in the past: “I have nothing against Israel and I won’t allow anyone to endanger it. I will not assist anyone that jeopardises the security of Israel, but don't get me wrong I will not lose my interests in those places if it means dealing with countries that are not friendly to Israel.” I don't like it. I’m not happy with it. I have a lot to say to Putin, but it is a masterplan of Russian interests.
BA: There were reports in July that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he personally persuaded US President Donald Trump to reimpose Iran sanctions. Isn’t the re-imposition of sanctions on Iran in Israel’s interests?