Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Sunday called on Russia not to provide Iran and Syria with weapons system which could destabilize the Middle East.
Barak's words came one day before Olmert's scheduled visit to Russia in an attempt to dissuade Russia from selling antiaircraft missiles to Iran.
Israel hopes Russia to play a positive role in the regional peace process, Barak said during a meeting in Jerusalem with visiting French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner.
According to daily Yedioth Ahronoth, Barak and Kouchner discussed the sale of various weapon systems to Iran and Syria, and various political and security issues pertaining to the Middle East.
Local daily Ha'aretz said Olmert is expected to focus on Russia's sale of antiaircraft missiles to Iran during his trip, pointing out to the Russian leaders Israel's opposition to any missile deal with Iran.
A senior Israeli official said on condition of anonymity that Olmert's visit is "focused on the security issue" and he will raise the topic of the missiles during his three meetings with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Olmert intends to emphasize that the missile sale would "upset the military strategic balance in the Middle East," and warn Moscow of the danger of the missile system being transferred to Iranian military ally Syria, added the official.
The Israeli military establishment is becoming increasingly concerned over talks between Russia and Iran about the sale of S-300 antiaircraft missiles to Tehran.
The deployment of these missiles would pose a major threat to any Israel Air Force operation against Iranian nuclear facilities, said Ha'aretz.
The S-300 is considered one of the most advanced antiaircraft missile systems in the world. Its launchers are portable and can be readied for use within a few minutes.
The missiles are capable of hitting aircraft flying at a maximum altitude of nearly 30 km, and have a range of about 150 km. The system's radar can detect dozens of different targets simultaneously.
Another senior Israeli official said that Iran and Russia have held meetings on the issue in recent weeks.
"Contacts between our countries are continuing and we do not see any reason to suspend them," Anatoly Isaikin, general director of Russia's state arms exporter Rosoboronexport, said at an arms fair in South Africa two weeks ago.
In recent meetings within Israel's military and foreign policy establishment, speakers have reiterated the need to stop or at least delay the deal. Senior Israeli military officials have approached Olmert to impress upon him the importance of dealing with the issue at the highest level of government.
"IRAN IS AN INTERNATIONAL PROBLEM"
As Olmert and Barak try to dissuade Russia from selling weapons system to Iran, Israeli Foreign Minister and the ruling Kadima's new leader Tzipi Livni also reiterated Sunday that Iran is an international problem.
"The Iranian ideology exists regardless of what transpires here," she said at the Foreign Ministry Conference on Policy and Strategy in what was her first diplomatic speech since winning the September Kadima primary and Israeli President Shimon Peres' go-ahead to form a new government.
"Iran is not only Israel's problem and not only a problem for the region or its neighbors, it is an international problem and that is how we should approach it," she said.
"The world must comprehend that the war on Iran is common and even if we win one battle the ideology in Iran will remain unchanged," added the foreign minister.
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, who is now in the Middle East for talks with Israeli and Palestinian officials, told Israel Radio on Sunday that his country was worried over the strengthening of Iran's nuclear capabilities and knows something has to be done, either peacefully or by military means.
Kouchner called on the Israeli people to remember the Palestinian peace process even during a period of political instability, as he assessed that solving the Palestinian issue would make it easier to resolve the Iranian crisis.
The United States, Israel and their Western allies accuse Iran of secretly developing nuclear weapons, but Iran insists that its nuclear program is only for peaceful purposes.
Source:Xinhua
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