(Reuters) Dan Williams - An Israeli-Russian coordination team set up to prevent the countries accidentally trading fire in Syria will be headed by their deputy armed forces chiefs and will hold its first meeting by Oct. 5, an Israeli military officer said on Thursday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed on Monday to set up the team. Israel is worried the new Russian deployment risks pitting Russian forces against its own over Syria. Israeli jets have occasionally struck in Syria to foil handovers of sophisticated Russian- or Iranian-supplied arms to Hizbullah in Lebanon. An Israeli military officer said the upcoming talks with Moscow would focus on aerial operations in Syria and "electromagnetic coordination." This appeared to refer to the sides agreeing not to scramble each other's radio communications or radar-tracking systems, and devising ways of identifying each other's forces to avoid any unintended confrontation in the heat of battle. Israel and Russia will also coordinate on sea operations off Syria's Mediterranean coast.
2015-09-25 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive