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Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert sought President Vladimir Putin's support at talks for a tougher stance against Iran's nuclear program, in which Russian engineers are building the country's first reactor.
“We are at a critical juncture and the entire international community must join ranks to block Iran's true intention of arming itself with nuclear weapons,” Olmert told journalists after talks with Putin in the Kremlin.
“I leave this meeting with the sense that President Putin understands that danger.”
Olmert described Iran's atomic project — which Tehran insists is restricted to a civilian power program — as “a threat to Israel which we cannot reconcile ourselves to.”
The Israeli leader was due to hold talks with Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov later Wednesday and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday, as well as meeting Jewish community leaders.
Russia is constructing Iran's first civilian nuclear power station at Bushehr and has resisted a push for UN sanctions, arguing these could provoke a regional crisis. Moscow also supplies the Islamic republic with sophisticated conventional weapons.
Backed by its US ally, Israel says sanctions are necessary following Tehran's failure to suspend uranium enrichment, a process Israel, the United States and several European powers say hides a secret nuclear weapons program.
Israel — widely considered the Middle East's sole, if undeclared nuclear weapons power — considers Iran its chief foe, pointing to calls from President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to wipe the Jewish state off the map and alleged Iranian backing for the Lebanese Hezbollah militia and Palestinian militant groups.
Olmert's trip marked the 15th anniversary of the renewal of diplomatic ties between Russia and Israel, following the Soviet collapse. Although tensions over Moscow's ties with Iran and Syria topped the agenda, both leaders stressed their countries' close relationship.
Putin said after talks that the struggles against “terror, extremism and nationalist disputes” united the two countries. The Russian foreign ministry issued a statement praising joint efforts “against modern challenges and threats, including the fight against international terrorism.”
Olmert hailed Russia as a “dominant and crucial factor in the world” and recalled that Putin had promised during his visit to Israel last year that “Russia's relations in the Middle East will no longer be one-sided.”
Iran is not the only sticking point, however.
Israel also claims that Russian weaponry sold to Syria has been passed on to Hezbollah guerrillas, who allegedly used the latest Russian-made anti-tank rockets to deadly effect during fighting with the Israeli army in July and August.
Moscow has also raised eyebrows in Israel and the United States by maintaining contacts with the radical Palestinian movement Hamas.
The Vremya Novostei daily reported Wednesday that Putin was furious over reports that Syria had supplied Hezbollah with weapons sold by Russia.
“However, this does not mean that Russia will completely stop selling weapons to Iran and Syria, as the Israelis want,” the daily predicted.
“Cooperation with Tehran and Damascus, including in the oil and gas and atomic (energy) spheres, bring Moscow dividends — and not only material. Russia plays a unique middleman role.”
Russia, along with the European Union, the United Nations and the United States, is part of the so-called quartet that sponsors the floundering Middle East peace process but an Israeli government official has made it clear that efforts to revive it were off the agenda of this week's talks.
“At the moment, the peace process is not an issue on the agenda,” the official said.
Olmert reiterated at the Kremlin that he was ready to meet with Palestinian Authority chairman, Mahmoud Abbas. However, he said peace with the Palestinians was impossible without recognition of Israel's right to exist and an end to militant attacks.
