>>507583515Despite Moscow’s close ties with Tehran, Putin has repeatedly demonstrated his readiness to take Israeli interests into account.
He has maintained warm, personal ties with Netanyahu, who frequently traveled to Russia before the war in Ukraine.
Russia and Israel have built a close political, economic and cultural relationship that helped them tackle delicate and divisive issues, including developments in Syria. It survived a tough test in 2018, when a Russian military reconnaissance aircraft was shot down by Syrian forces responding to an Israeli airstrike, killing all 15 people aboard.
And even though Russia supplied Iran with sophisticated S-300 air defense missile systems, which Israel said were taken out during its strikes last year on Iran, Moscow has dragged its feet on deliveries of other weapons in an apparent response to Israeli worries. In particular, Russia has delayed providing advanced Su-35 fighter jets that Iran wants so it can upgrade its aging fleet.
Israel, in its turn, appeared to take Moscow’s interests into account by showing little enthusiasm for providing Ukraine with weapons in the 3-year-old war.
The Kremlin’s friendly ties with Israel has fueled discontent in Tehran, where some members of the political and military leadership reportedly were suspicious of Moscow’s intentions.