JERUSALEM: Israel’s prime minister stole away to Moscow this week to discuss Russian arms sales to Iran and Syria, a report said on Wednesday amid speculation over the premier’s mysterious disappearance.
Benjamin Netanyahu flew to Moscow on Monday, the mass-selling Yediot Aharonot daily said, citing anonymous sources. Asked to comment on the report, Netanyahu’s office reiterated that the premier had spent Monday at the headquarters of the Mossad foreign intelligence agency. Spokesmen for Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said the two leaders did not meet Netanyahu on Monday, but did not explicitly deny that the visit took place. Netanyahu’s hourslong absence from public view on Monday has sparked furious rumors in the Israeli media as to where he spent the day, with a secret visit to an Arab country topping the speculation.
Israel has for years tried to convince Russia not to sell S-300 surface-to-air missile systems to Iran, which the Zionist state fears Tehran could deploy around its controversial nuclear sites. Russia reportedly agreed to sell the systems to Tehran several years ago. Following an Aug. 18 visit, Israeli President Shimon Peres said he had secured a promise from Medvedev that Russia would review its decision.
Widely considered to be the Middle East’s sole if undeclared nuclear power, Israel suspects Iran of trying to develop an atomic bomb under the guise of a civilian nuclear program, a charge Tehran denies.
