March 9, 2017
In his third trip to Moscow in 11 months, Netanyahu meets with Vladimir Putin to discuss a myriad of issues facing the Middle East, with Iran and Syria being his top priorities. Netanyahu expresses his concerns about the Iranian nuclear program, a particularly tense issue considering Putin’s strong support of the controversial 2015 Iran-Nuclear deal. The two leaders likewise discuss the buildup of Iranian-backed ground forces in Syria and Netanyahu’s concerns about Russian warplanes carrying out operations against Syrian rebel factions. Israel is particularly vexed by the prospects of Iran having a geographic corridor from Iran to Syria that would be close to Israeli presence on the Golan Heights.