Russian presence in Syria

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (C) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) arrive for a joint press conference at the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv on April 29, 2018. (AFP PHOTO / Thomas COEX)

April 30, 2018, 1:47 pm

Resonant Syria strike suggests coordinated US-Israel message to Russia and Iran

Overnight attack comes with Pompeo in the region, Netanyahu and Trump on the phone, Liberman in the US, and the US Army CENTCOM chief having visited without fanfare last week

By Avi Issacharoff

In this May 20, 2000 file photo, two Russian soldiers make a routine check of metal containers with toxic agents at the Shikhany chemical weapons storage site in the town of Gorny, 124 miles (200 kms) south of the Volga River city of Saratov, Russia. (AP Photo, File)

April 23, 2018, 4:56 pm

The men behind the Cold War poison that surfaced in a quiet English town

Israel was reportedly deeply concerned that Anatoly Kuntsevich, one of the men behind 'Novichok', was working with Damascus, and repeatedly warned Moscow, but to no avail

By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV

Syrians flee their homes with their belongings in the town of Beit Sawa in Syria's besieged Eastern Ghouta region on March 4, 2018, following reported regime air strikes. (AFP Photo/Abdulmonam Eassa)

March 5, 2018, 2:08 am

Syria’s Assad says bloody Ghouta campaign must go on

Remarks come as regime air strikes kill 34 civilians including 11 children on Sunday, bringing two-week death toll from strikes and artillery bombardment to over 650 civilians

By AFP

Syrian medics tend to a baby as a child cries next to them at a makeshift clinic following Syrian government bombardments in Douma, in the besieged Eastern Ghouta region on the outskirts of the capital Damascus on February 22, 2018. (AFP/Hamza Al-Ajweh)

February 23, 2018, 12:50 pm

UN Security Council to vote Friday on Syria ceasefire

Unclear whether Russia will veto resolution which demands 30-day pause in fighting to allow humanitarian aid and medical evacuations

By Carole LANDRY

Syrians respond following airstrikes and shelling by Syrian government forces in Ghouta, a suburb of Damascus, Syria, in this photo, released February 21, 2018, by the Syrian anti-government activist group Ghouta Media Center. (Ghouta Media Center via AP)

February 22, 2018, 12:55 pm

End to Syria ‘massacre’ urged as death toll mounts in fresh bombardment

At least 335 civilians believed to have been killed since Sunday in besieged enclave of eastern Ghouta

By AFP and AP

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on March 9, 2017 (Israel embassy in Moscow)

January 29, 2018, 5:29 am

Netanyahu heads to Moscow to discuss Iran, Syria with Putin

PM to visit Russia on Monday to ensure Israeli forces can continue to act in Syria as needed

By Raphael Ahren

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (right) meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Russia, on June 7, 2016. (Haim Zach/GPO)

January 25, 2018, 12:12 pm

Netanyahu to make whirlwind trip to Moscow to discuss Iran, Syria with Putin

After India and Switzerland, and before Germany and the US, PM to visit Russia on Monday to ensure Israeli forces can continue to act in Syria as needed

By Raphael Ahren

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, left, Russian President Vladimir Putin, center, and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu inspect a military parade during their visit to the Russian air base in Hmeimim in the northwestern Syrian province of Latakia, December 11, 2017. (Mikhail Klimentyev/AFP)

December 27, 2017, 12:12 am

Moscow moves to make military presence in Syria permanent

Russian parliament approves agreement to extend lease on Tartus naval base; defense minister says country also cementing presence at Hmeimim air field

By Agencies and TOI staff

A Russian ship at Syria's port of Tartus (YouTube screenshot)

December 21, 2017, 6:54 pm

Russian parliament ratifies naval base agreement with Syria

Moscow plans to keep warships at the Mediterranean base in Tartus for 49 years

By AP

Syrian soccer fans hold a portrait of their president, Bashar Assad, before their match with Iran during a Round 3 - Group A World Cup qualifier at the Azadi Stadium in Tehran, Iran, September 5, 2017. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

November 28, 2017, 1:32 pm

With victory assured, why is Assad suddenly wary of Iran’s embrace?

Having fought and bled for the regime's survival, Tehran looks to cash in its support for a Mediterranean naval base, air bases and even uranium mining concessions

By Avi Issacharoff

Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman, center, meets with Brig. Gen. Yaniv Assur, who commands the division responsible for the Golan Heights, right, and IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot, left, during a tour of northern Israel on November 15, 2017. (Ariel Hermoni/Defense Ministry)

November 20, 2017, 8:09 pm

Eyeing Iran in Syria, Liberman requests NIS 4.8 billion boost for army

Defense minister says recent changes in Syria, which came after 2015 funding deal, make it harder for IDF to protect the country

By Judah Ari Gross

Russian Ambassador to Israel, Alexander Petrovich Shein, at the President's Residence in Jerusalem. November 9, 2015. (Isaac Harari/Flash90)

November 20, 2017, 4:06 pm

Iran is only in Syria to fight ‘terror,’ says Russia’s Israel envoy

Alexander Shein defends Iranian presence on Israel's border, but insists Moscow respects Jerusalem's security concerns

By Raphael Ahren

In this November 14, 2017, photo illustration a journalist in Washington, DC, looks at YouTube video showing images from a aerial assault video game. Russia's defense ministry on Tuesday shared the same footage on its own channels saying it proved the US was aiding the Islamic State in the Middle East, but social media users pointed out they included a still from a video game. (AFP Photo/STF)

November 15, 2017, 12:00 am

Russia posts videogame image as ‘irrefutable proof’ US helps IS

Alleged Russian drone photos also include apparent footage from 2016 video showing Iraqi forces bombing jihadists

By AFP

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, shakes hands with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu at a meeting in the former's office in Jerusalem on October 17, 2017. (Prime Minister's Office)

October 17, 2017, 2:10 pm

PM to Russian defense minister: Israel won’t allow Iranian presence in Syria

In meeting with Sergei Shoigu, Netanyahu repeats warning that Tehran is on track to get a nuke in the next decade

By Judah Ari Gross

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, left, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman, center, and IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot take part in an honor guard at the Israeli army's Kirya headquarters in Tel Aviv on October 16, 2017. (Ariel Hermoni/ Defense Ministry)

October 16, 2017, 8:26 pm

Russian defense minister lands in Israel for talks on Syria, Iran

In first official visit, Sergei Shoigu arrives in Tel Aviv to meet Liberman amid tensions following IAF airstrike near Damascus

By Judah Ari Gross