Occupied Jerusalem: An Israeli Cabinet Minister is accusing Russia of destabilising the Middle East by selling weapons to Syrian President Bashar Al Assad’s regime. Monday’s remarks by Tourism Minister Uzi Landau are likely to raise tensions with Russia on the eve of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Moscow. Netanyahu is expected to press President Vladimir Putin to halt the arms sales to Al Assad’s government.
Russia has sided with Al Assad in Syria’s civil war, sending him weapons and shielding him against Western attempts to impose international sanctions.
Israel is concerned advanced Russian weapons could fall into the hands of Lebanon’s Hezbollah group, another Al Assad ally.
Landau says the Russian arms supplies “promote instability in the Middle East” and that “anyone who provides weaponry to terror organisations is siding with terror.”
