Russia hopes Israel to leave Syria ‘someday’: President Putin

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) – Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Israel is sending in more troops to Syria, indicating that Tel Aviv intends to strengthen its presence in the war-torn country, but that he hopes Israel will "someday" leave.

“We hope that Israel will leave Syria someday, but now it is bringing in additional troops there … And I have the impression that not only are they not going to leave, but they are going to strengthen their forces there,” Putin said in response to a question from Anadolu during his annual news conference and call-in show in Moscow.

Russia slams the seizure of any Syrian territory, Putin said, describing Israel's actions in the Gaza Strip as "only condemnable."

He believes that Israel is the "main beneficiary" of the events unfolding in Syria.

The Russian president also said he is in “constant” contact with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, indicating that while he does not recall when their latest talk took place, they discussed the situation in the Middle East.

Putin went on to say that Erdogan’s attitude to the developments in the Middle East is well known to everyone, as is Russia's position, which believes that the Palestinian issue can only be resolved by “removing the causes of its occurrence.”

"Israel has been created; Palestine has not, actually, been created to this day. That is the whole problem," Putin remarked, recalling the UN Security Council decisions adopted on the matter.