Putin Urges Bibi to Focus on Present Iran Ties

Local Editor

As the visiting "Israeli" PM Benjamin Netanyahu referred to an ancient legend of an Iranian forefather's attempt to eradicate the Jewish people, Russian President Vladimir Putin urged the "Israeli" entity Thursday to focus on modern world affairs.

Putin and Netanyahu touched upon a range of issues during their meeting in Moscow, such as the fight against terrorism, the crisis in Syria and the "Israeli" entity's tough relations with Iran.

President Putin began by wishing Netanyahu a happy Purim which is a Jewish celebration.

In response, Netanyahu said Persia made "an attempt to destroy the Jewish people that did not succeed" nearly 2,500 years ago, stressing that "today there is an attempt by Persia's heir, Iran, to destroy the state of the Jews."

"They say this as clearly as possible and print it in black and white in their newspapers."

However, this time the "Israeli" entity has its own territory and an army that protects its territory, Netanyahu said.

Putin noted that those events had taken place "in the fifth century BC," added that "we now live in a different world" and suggested discussing the actual up-to-date problems in the region.

Netanyahu welcomed Russia's efforts in fighting against Daesh [Arabic acronym for "ISIS" / "ISIL"] and other extremist groups.

"Recently we have seen a significant progress in fighting against Islamic Sunni terrorism spread by ‘ISIS' and al-Qaeda, and Russia has contributed a lot," Netanyahu said.

Netanyahu then claimed, however, that there was a threat of what he called Islamic "Shiite terrorism" he said was being spread by Iran.

Putin is set to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Moscow on March 10. The two presidents will likely focus on the situation in Syria, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said ahead of the meeting.

"Certainly, the peace process and situation in Syria can't come off the agenda of any regional power, especially such as Turkey and Israel," Peskov said.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team