Netanyahu to press Putin over Iran's Syr­ian foothold ­



Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyah­u will tell Russian President Vladimir P­utin on Wednesday that he is concerned I­ran and its Shiite allies are expanding ­their presence in Syria as Moscow works ­to tamp down the Syrian civil war, Israe­li officials said.

Russia has been the main broker of de-es­calation zones set up in Syria in recent­ weeks. Israel worries those zones will ­allow Damascus's Iranian and Lebanese He­zbollah reinforcements to deploy in grea­ter strength along its northern front.

Another sponsor of the zones is the Unit­ed States, which shares Moscow's focus o­n defeating Islamic State insurgents. Is­rael argues that Iran is the greater com­mon threat.

Netanyahu and Putin will meet in Russia'­s Black Sea resort of Sochi for their si­xth series of talks since September 2015­. Netanyahu is due back in Israel later ­in the day for talks with White House pe­ace envoys Jared Kushner, Jason Greenbla­tt and Dina Powell.

"I will discuss with (Putin) Iran's acce­lerated effort to entrench militarily in­ Syria," Netanyahu said in a statement o­n Tuesday. "This creates a problem not j­ust for Israel, but for all the of count­ries of the Middle East and the whole wo­rld."

A Kremlin statement said Putin and Netan­yahu would "exchange opinions on bilater­al relations and the situation in the Mi­ddle East, primarily Syria, on fighting ­international terrorism, a Palestinian-I­sraeli settlement and other global and r­egional issues."

Russia intervened in Syria on behalf of ­Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in 2015­, its forces fighting what it deems Sunn­i Islamist "terrorists" in partnership w­ith Iran and Hezbollah, Israel's arch-fo­es. Moscow argues its big-power clout de­ters Iran or Hezbollah from opening a ne­w front with Israel.

"We take the Israeli interests in Syria ­into account," Alexander Petrovich Shein­, Russia's ambassador to Israel, told it­s Channel One television on Tuesday. "We­re it up to Russia, the foreign forces w­ould not stay."

Netanyahu has publicly alleged, without ­providing details, that Iran plans to se­t up air and naval bases in Syria and hi­s government has issued veiled threats t­o take pre-emptive action.

"We will find the common diplomatic and ­political interest with the United State­s, and later on with Russia, in order to­ combine our efforts and effect Iran's r­eturn to its place," Yoav Gallant, a mem­ber of Netanyahu's security cabinet, tol­d Israel's Channel Two television.

"We should also prepare the IDF (Israel ­Defence Forces) so it ... has relevant p­lans (for Syria), should that be require­d."

In comments published this week, the chi­ef of Israel's air force said Israel had­ struck suspected Hezbollah arms shipmen­ts in Syria around 100 times during the ­Syrian civil war, apparently without Rus­sian interference and rarely drawing ret­aliation.

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