Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday warned Israel against supplying arms to the Ukrainian government as a possible response to the Russian sale of the S-300 air defense system to Iran. In an interview broadcast on Russian television, Putin said that such a measure by Jerusalem would be "destructive, and would only lead to another round of conflict."
"The number of fatalities will only increase, but the result will not change," Putin said in an interview on the "Russia Today" television network. "This is a choice that the Israeli leadership must make. They can do whatever seems necessary to them."
At the same time, Putin expressed a conciliatory attitude to the US, despite the crisis in relations between the two countries, saying that the two countries had important interests I common, and should work on these interests as part of a joint agenda.
"We disagree on several issues concerning the current international agenda, but at the same time, there is something that unites us that is forcing us to work together," Putin said. He said these things were "the general efforts to make the global economy more democratic, moderate, and balanced, and to make the global order more democratic."
Tension between the two sides rose this week after Putin signed an order removing the bank on the sale of the S-300 missile system to Iran. Putin defended his decision, saying that the measure was necessary, in view of the emerging nuclear agreement with Iran. "The US Security Council never forbade the sale of the system," Putin stated in a Moscow press conference. He added that Tehran had demonstrated "flexibility" in the nuclear talks with the six major powers, and there was therefore no reason not to supply the system to it, since it was "defensive."
US President Barack Obama commented on Russia's controversial step, saying that he was surprised that Putin waited so long to approve the arms agreement with Iran. When the Kremlin announced the signing of the order, US Secretary of State John Kerry telephoned Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to express his concern about the decision.
Furthermore, White House spokesman Josh Earnest condemned the step, saying that it was liable to jeopardize the plans for removing the sanctions against Iran in the framework of the permanent agreement to be signed by Iran and the major powers. He added, "One of the things we have indicated has been critical to our success in this diplomatic process has been the unity of the international community."
The civil war in Ukraine has caused a deep crisis in relations between Russia and the West. In the past, Putin attacked the West and the US, accusing them of responsibility for the crisis. He asserted that the situation came about as a result of what he described as the Western-supported the coup against former Ukrainian President Victor Yanukovych. Russia rejected many times accusations by Kiev and the West that it was supporting pro-Russian separatists and sending soldiers and weapons into eastern Ukraine. At the same time, both the West and Russia support implementation of the ceasefire between the sides signed in Minsk in February.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on April 19, 2015
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