Interfax's Interview

 Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has said he hopes that Russia will take steps to prevent its weapons from falling into the hands of radical Middle East groups.

 The Russian side will doubtless take steps to allay such concerns, Olmert said in an interview for Interfax and the Kommersant newspaper on Thursday. He was commenting on speculation in the Israeli media that Hezbollah could get hold of Russian anti-tank weapons via Syria.

 Israel voiced its concern over the issue and received detailed explanations from the Russian President and from Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov, Olmert said.

 Russia and Israel have agreed to maintain contacts to prevent Iran from obtaining weapons of mass destruction, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said.

 "We and the Russian side have reached an agreement that Iran must be prevented from obtaining non-conventional weapons. We agreed that we will continue contacts to attain this result," Olmert said.

 "Iran was the central issue in the talks with the Russian leadership," he said.
 "One thing is indisputable: for Israel this issue is not a rank-and-file problem to be discussed among other things. It is a central problem whose influence and shadow extends to other problems," he said.

 Iran is "a state which publicly told the globe that it wants to wipe Israel off the map," Olmert said.

 "Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad says thing similar to what anti-Semites and the most outspoken opponents of the Israeli people have said for centuries," he said.

 "It would be difficult not to notice a looming danger when a state exists in which the reigns of power are held by fundamentalists of an extremist bias, where everything is happening in accordance with laws not used in the civilized world - a state which openly declares plans to destroy another state and, simultaneously, wants to acquire non-conventional weapons and to develop its potential of weapons with a range of thousands of kilometers. It is hard not to see an imminent danger," the Israeli premier said.

 Different ways of tackling this problem were discussed and different proposals were made during the Moscow meetings, which promoted better understanding between the Russian and Israeli leadership, Olmert said.

 If Iran suspects that it will not have to pay a high price for not reaching a compromise, it will have no incentive to strive towards compromise, he said.

 We will discuss what such a price may be between ourselves and not with the press, Olmert said.

 Asked how sensitive the theme of Russian-Iranian military-technical cooperation, including a contract for the supply of Russian Top-M1 complexes to Iran, was for Russian-Israeli relations, Olmert said that, naturally, Israel could not be pleased to see countries that threaten it equip themselves with up-to-date weapons, yet, not all weapons pose a threat. As for the Top-M1, this is not a nuclear weapon, he said.

 Hezbollah might have obtained Russian-made arms from Syrian army officers, a source in the Russian delegation to negotiations with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said.

 "Unscrupulous Syrian officers" might have given the weapons to Hezbollah "during Syria's hasty and chaotic withdrawal from Lebanon," the newspaper Kommersant quoted the source as saying on Thursday.

 Israel seized a large number of Russian-made anti-tank missiles from Hezbollah during the recent war in Lebanon, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz said on Wednesday.

 The newspaper said that the Israeli army had seized 39 missiles, some of them in original wrappings, together with accompanying notes and serial numbers.

 Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has praised the Russian government's role in ensuring the well-being of the Jewish community in Russia.

 It's impossible to imagine how Jewish life could have flourished without governmental support at all levels, he said during ceremonies at a Jewish communal center in Maryina Roshcha marking 15 years since Russia and Israel restored diplomatic relations.

 Although things are good for Jews in Russia, my duty is to bring them back home - to Jerusalem, Olmert said.

 There are dangers, wars and problems, but the authorities will do everything to alleviate them, he said.

 Ehud Olmert said he had personally asked President Vladimir Putin to assist in the release of Israeli servicemen, one of whom was abducted by Hamas, two others by Hezbollah.

 "I asked Putin to help liberate our abducted soldiers. But not even he has succeeded as yet. I am saying this to convey my profound gratitude to Putin. I know that he tried hard," Olmert said.

 Speaking about Israel's recent operation in Lebanon he asked how Russia would have reacted in a similar situation. "Just think how Russia would have reacted! Do you think it would have called on the other party to apologize, or would it have struck hard to teach the other side a lesson?" he said.

 "I think I know what Putin would have done. I highly appraise his approach and I know how he views such problems. I don't think my reaction surprised him," the Israeli prime minister added.

 Trade between Israel and Russia is likely to reach $5 billion in the next five years, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said.

 The Israeli prime minister also said that during his visit to Russia he had discussed ways of broadening economic ties between the two countries.

 "Our mutual efforts aim to expand cooperation to other areas. We are assessing prospects for gas supplies and for major Russian companies' participation in tenders organized in Israel," Olmert said.

More Interfax’s interviews...