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By Itzhak Rabihiya

PM Netanyahu Leads Trilateral Summit Meeting of US, Russian and Israeli National Security Advisers. Senior Russian official stands by Tehran’s claim that US drone was shot down in Iranian airspace, defends rights of foreign troops to remain in Syria despite Israeli opposition

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, led today (Tuesday, 25 June 2019), at the Orient Hotel in Jerusalem, the trilateral summit meeting of the national security advisers of the US, Russia and Israel.

The historic meeting of security advisers is being held pursuant to Prime Minister Netanyahu’s efforts with the American and Russian administrations and in continuation of the meetings held by the Prime Minister and National Security Adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat in recent days with US National Security Adviser John Bolton and the Secretary of the Russian National Security Council, Nikolai Patrushev.

Russia’s top national security adviser spoke out on behalf of Iran during trilateral meetings with his Israeli and American counterparts in Jerusalem on Tuesday, backing Tehran’s claims against the United States and supporting its ongoing military presence in Syria, which Israel sees as a threat to its security.

The trilateral conference of Israeli, Russian, and US national security advisers was the first event of its kind to be held in Jerusalem and, according to Israel, was aimed specifically at countering Iran, including both its nuclear aspirations and its influence throughout the Middle East.

The meeting came amid escalating tensions between Washington and Tehran, following US President Donald Trump’s decision to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal last year and put in place a series of crushing economic sanctions. The Islamic Republic has retaliated by stepping up its uranium enrichment to levels beyond those permitted under the 2015 accord, allegedly carrying out a number of attacks on petroleum facilities around the Middle East, and shooting down a sophisticated US drone last week.

Commenting on the downing of a US drone by Iran last week, Patrushev said the Russian Defense Ministry had determined that the aircraft had entered Iranian airspace, as Tehran claims. The US maintains that the drone was flying in international airspace when it was downed. “We have not seen any proof otherwise,” Patrushev said.

US National Security Adviser John Bolton, seen as a longtime hawk on Iranian issues, threatened Tuesday that the White House would step up the sanctions and other measures against Iran if it exceeded the uranium enrichment levels of the nuclear deal, saying such a move would be a “very serious mistake” by Tehran.

Tehran had announced on May 8 that it was suspending two of its 2015 pledges and gave Europe, China and Russia a two-month ultimatum to help Iran circumvent US sanctions and sell its oil or it would abandon two more commitments. Bolton spoke a day after the US imposed fresh sanctions against Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

“They’ll either get the point or as the president said, we will enhance the maximum pressure campaign further,” he said at a press conference, adding that “all options are on the table.”

National Security Adviser Ben-Shabbat and his US and Russian counterparts are currently meeting at the summit. The discussions are focusing on Iran, Syria and regional issues.

Prime Minister Netanyahu, that start of the meeting said: “It’s historic because it’s the first meeting between our three countries’ national security advisors in our capital, Jerusalem. I want to thank President Trump and President Putin for agreeing to hold this security summit and for sending their most senior advisors. I deeply value the strong relationships that Israel has with both leaders and both countries. As I’ve said many times, Israel’s relations with the United States of America has reached new heights under President Trump’s leadership. Equally, Israel is grateful that our friendship with Russia has gotten stronger—stronger than ever in recent years.

I had an opportunity to meet with both of you these past few days, including just now in the last few minutes, to discuss important bilateral issues, but especially the challenge of how to bring security and stability in our immediate region. Based on our discussions, I believe that there is a wider basis for cooperation between the three of us than many believe. This summit represents a real opportunity to help advance that stability in our region, and particularly in Syria.

We look forward to discussing concrete ways to achieve this goal, which is critical for successfully implementing UN Security Council Resolution 2254, and Israel hopes that this summit will help bring us closer to achieving our shared goal of peace and prosperity and security – they go together – in this region.

Attached photo credit: Kobi Gideon (GPO)