Speaking during a meeting between the two leaders that had been convened to discuss regional issues including Syria and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Netanyahu reiterated Israel's position that the Golan Heights would remain under its sovereignty.
"We will not return to the days in which our towns and children were fired on from the Golan Heights," Netanyahu said.
"Therefore, with or without an agreement, the Golan Heights will remain under Israeli sovereignty," he added.
During the meeting, which was held just three days before the Kremlin is set to host Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Netanyahu also spoke of the importance of maintaining security cooperation between Israel and Russia.
He also termed the meeting an "opportunity to discuss bilateral issues" on the 25th anniversary of formal ties between the two countries.
Putin extended the invitation for Netanyahu to visit during a meeting with Israeli president Reuven Rivlin last month, where Rivlin asked the Russian president for his help in working to return UN observers to the Golan Heights.
Other topics which may be up for discussion include Russia's sale of advanced S-300 air defense systems to Iran, which Israel has lobbied against.
Netanyahu last visited Putin in September 2015 where the two discussed coordination of their activities in Syria.
“Given the Russian pullout, Netanyahu wants to prevent shipments of advanced weapons to Lebanon through Syria and stop Hezbollah from building up its presence in the Golan,” Nadav Pollak, a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy said, according to Bloomberg. “He has had good coordination with Russia and he wants to keep it that way.”
Netanyahu has said that Israel operates in Syria "from time to time," partly to prevent weapons transfers to Lebanon but earlier this month was the first time he explicitly mentioned that Israel is working to stop weapons falling into Hezbollah's hands.
It was reported at the beginning of the year that Russia had been transferring advanced weaponry to Hezbollah under the cover of the chaos of the Syrian civil war.
Two of the Shi'ite militant group's field commanders told The Daily Beast that the weapons include precision ground-to-ground missiles, long-range tactical missiles, laser guided rockets, and anti-tank weapons.
[ i24news.tv]
21/4/16
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