In February, Reuters reported that Israel was lobbying the US to allow Russia to maintain its airbase in Hmeimim, as well as its naval base further south in Tartus. The lobbying was part of an Israeli effort to keep Syria weak and divided, Reuters added.

However, Israeli-Russian cooperation existed long before Sharaa's recent campaign to seize Damascus.

Professor Chen Kerchner of Ariel University wrote that Israel and Russia have engaged in "friendship balancing," despite being on opposite sides of the Syria conflict since 2015. The Russian air force entered the war in September of that year to bomb extremist groups supported by the US and Israel, including Sharaa's HTS and ISIS.

Russia and Israel "developed norms and structural practices – including regular meetings of elites, public statements, and other mechanisms – to mitigate disputes. These strategies created and sustained a friendship balance that prevented rivalry and escalation between the two," Kerchner wrote.

According to a former officer in the Syrian Army who spoke with The Cradle, Russia regularly blocked Syria from using its air defense systems when targeted by Israeli warplanes in the years before Assad was toppled.

"Russian betrayed us long before 8 December," the officer stated.

After Israel attacked Russia's erstwhile ally, Iran, in June of this year, President Vladimir Putin explained that Russia did not assist the Islamic Republic because "almost two million Russian-speaking people live in Israel."

[–] Lemmygradwontallowme@hexbear.net 7 points 2 weeks ago

Note - Ariel University is located in the Zionist Entity's occupied West Bank so take that with a grain of salt.