Russia sandwiched in Syria between Israel, Iran
Russia has many irons in the Mideast fire, and it must attend to them all to keep from getting burned.
MOSCOW — Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu paid a two-day visit this week to Israel — his first as the top Russian military commander. On Oct. 16, Shoigu met in Tel Aviv with Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman and the Israel Defense Forces' Chief of General Staff Gadi Eizenkot. On Tuesday, he was hosted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Hours before Shoigu landed in Tel Aviv, the Israeli air force destroyed a Syrian army anti-aircraft battery in an alleged retaliation to Damascus firing a missile at Israeli planes while they were on a reconnaissance mission over neighboring Lebanon. Israel said it informed Russia of the incident “in real-time mode” and “comprehensively briefed” Shoigu to alleviate a potentially negative response from Moscow.
