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Russia and Israel agree to bolster cooperation in fighting terrorism

Shoigu noted that Israel, just like Russia, has first-hand knowledge of the terrorism issue

MOSCOW, April 26. /TASS/. MOSCOW, April 26. /TASS/. Cooperation between Russia and Israel will be aimed at strengthening the fight against terrorism and further coordination of activities in Syria, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said at a meeting with his Israeli counterpart Avigdor Lieberman on Wednesday.

"Our countries have a lot of things in common, and we are committed to developing cooperation with Israel in many regions as a key partner and player in the Middle East. We have cooperated for a long time in resolving regional and global problems," the Russian defense minister said.

Shoigu noted that Israel, just like Russia, has first-hand experience on the issue of terrorism. "I hope that today we will have an opportunity to discuss everything related to the operation in Syria, even more so since we are working there within the framework of our agreement on preventing mid-air incidents. I hope that our work in the future will be aimed at intensifying the fight against terrorism and further coordination of activities in that region," he emphasized.

For his part, Lieberman also pointed to the constructive cooperation within the agreement stating that this mechanism was effective.

According to the Israeli defense minister, the Middle East is the world’s worst trouble spot, a hotbed of terrorism and destabilization impacting the globe. According to Lieberman, there are many unresolved issues in the region, including social and economic ones, which affect security. "We are in the epicenter of these events, with militants of all stripes found on our borders. We try to act sensibly and effectively," Lieberman noted.

"We appreciate our dialogue within the joint coordination group. The mechanism has proved to be effective so far," the top Israeli defense official said. He added that meetings between the two countries’ experts helped prevent any possible misunderstandings and hoped that this mutually beneficial dialogue would be continue.