MOSCOW (JTA) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made firm statements about Iran before leaving for Russia to discuss the Islamic Republic with one of its key allies, President Vladimir Putin.
In Russia, Netanyahu said in a statement published Monday morning that he will discuss with Putin “Iran’s effort to turn Lebanon into one giant missile site, a site for precision missiles against the State of Israel, which we will not tolerate.”
Netanyahu, who has traveled to Russia to meet with Putin six times in the past two years, said he and Putin “meet periodically in order to ensure the military coordination between the Israel Defense Forces and the Russian forces in Syria; as of today this has succeeded and it is important that it continue to succeed.”
Also on the agenda, Netanyahu said, is “Iran’s relentless efforts to establish a military presence in Syria, which we strongly oppose and are also taking action against.”
Russia is a military ally of Bashar Assad, Syria’s president, and of the Iranian regime, with which it conducts major arms deals. Russia is also an important trading partner of Israel and maintains good relations with the Jewish state.
In Moscow, Netanyahu is scheduled to visit the Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center with Putin. The museum is hosting an event in memory of the Sobibor Uprising ahead of its 75th anniversary.
Last month, Netanyahu in a speech drew parallels between Nazi Germany and Iran.
Noting “some important differences” between the two entities, Netanyahu said that “both regimes do have two important things in common. One, a ruthless commitment to impose tyranny and terror. And second, a ruthless commitment to murder Jews.”
One of the most famous acts of resistance by Jews against the Nazis during the Holocaust, the Sobibor Uprising was launched after the arrival to the death camp in northeastern Poland of several Red Army veterans with combat experience. The prisoners killed 11 SS officers and freed 300 inmates, though only a few dozen escaped without being caught immediately after the uprising.
Descendants of survivors from Sobibor, Red Army veterans and Russian Jewish leaders are expected to attend the event at the Jewish museum, an award-winning institution that was established in 2012.
