27 Dec 2019 18:18

Israel to address Iranian presence in Syria during Putin's visit - Israeli embassy

MOSCOW. Dec 27 (Interfax) - Israel will not tolerate Iran's presence in Syria and plans to discuss the issue during Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to Israel in January, Israeli Charge d'Affaires a.i. Yacov Livne said in an interview with Interfax.

"Unfortunately, we see Iranian leadership consistently pursuing an aggressive anti-Israel policy. Iranian leaders have absolutely openly said on numerous occasions that they are determined to annihilate the State of Israel. We see Iranian presence near our borders as an imminent threat to our national security. We have said repeatedly that we cannot tolerate this course of events," Livne said.

"This is one of the matters that has been discussed by Israeli and Russian leadership," he said.

"I suppose this subject will be brought up during Mr. Putin's visit to Israel, as well," Livne said.

Asked whether Israel still has concerns about Iran's presence in Syria, Livne said: "We'll continue to have such concerns as long as Iranian leadership continues to call openly for annihilation of the Jewish state, support international terrorism, and destabilize the situation in the region."