'Russia caused tensions between Israel, Syria'
JPost.com Staff , THE JERUSALEM POST Aug. 30, 2007
Russia was partly responsible for the heightened tension between Israel and Syria at the beginning of the summer, head of the Diplomatic-Security Bureau at the Defense Ministry, Gen. Amos Gilad (ret.) said on Thursday.
During an interview with Army Radio, the former general noted that recent messages sent by Israel to Moscow have caused the Russians to cease their activity, thus easing the tensions in the region.
"At a certain time, the Russians caused the Syrians to believe that Israel was preparing for war," Gilad said. "I think that they have stopped this. Syria is not planning on attacking Israel, and Israel is definitely not planning on attacking Syria."
According to a report published in the Israeli daily Ma'ariv, diplomatic and security officials in the Kremlin purposely misled the Syrians in order to further maximize their profits from the sale of military equipment.
Russia is currently one of the main suppliers of military equipment to Syria.
'Russia caused tensions between Israel, Syria'
