JERUSALEM: Russia and Israel should work out a common approach on arms supplies to the Middle East and the Caucasus, the Israeli foreign minister said on Monday.
Avigdor Lieberman is set to visit Russia on Tuesday. He is expected to meet with President Dmitry Medvedev, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
“It is very important for us to elaborate a single approach on arms supplies to our regions… the Middle East and the Caucasus. During the war in Georgia, we heard all sorts of criticism with regard to Israel,” Lieberman said ahead of his first visit to Moscow.
Israeli firms sold weapons and sent military instructors in Georgia. For its part, Israel is concerned over Russia’s ties with Syria and Iran.
Lieberman said he was also proposing a discussion of the joint fight against terrorism and organized crime and the elaboration of a clear-cut position on “nonconventional weapons” during his Moscow visit.
He added there was a threat that such weapons – nuclear, biological and chemical – could fall into the hands of extremist elements.
