Three newspapers discuss Russian President Vladimir Putin\’s visit to Israel:
Ma\’ariv remarks that "Israel received Putin, one of the world\’s most belligerent leaders, like a king," and regrets that "Nobody dared talk with him about his ignoring the massacre in Syria and his support for Iran."
Yisrael Hayom suggests that the importance of President Putin\’s visit to Israel is its very existence." The author elucidates that "Israel and Russia share common interests regarding the Islamist threat. Regarding Syria, on the humanitarian level, Israel cannot countenance what is happing there, but it is also not unaware of the scenarios that are liable to occur there if Assad is replaced by a regime, the goals which are cloaked in fog. However, a subject on which Jerusalem and Moscow clearly differ is the Iranian nuclear program. While Jerusalem is concerned about the West\’s foot ragging…, Russia even assists the Iranian nuclear program. Will Putin\’s visit contribute to bridging between positions or a worsening of differences? We will know in the future. In the meantime, it is good that he visited here."
The Jerusalem Post states that “it is impossible to ignore the many points of dispute between the nations,” and points out that “Despite the strong relations between Jerusalem and Moscow, the Kremlin provides crucial support to countries extremely antagonistic toward Israel – particularly Syria and Iran.”
Yediot Aharonot suggests: "The flood of declarations and announcements by the Egyptian President-elect attests to the fact that he has yet to garner experience in the formulation of a system of communication with the media. Therefore, it is best if we wait awhile before we draw conclusions from one statement or another."
Haaretz praises the democratic process in Egypt which “for the first time in 60 years gave the Egyptian public the right to make a real decision,” and asserts that “Egypt needs and deserves international support, massive aid and good will. Without these, the country will not be able to emerge from its enormous economic difficulties, stabilize the government and plan the prosperous future to which Egypt\’s 85 million citizens aspire.” The editor calls on the Israeli government to show that it wants to be a partner to Egypt\’s success, and adds: “That is what good neighbors do.”
The Jerusalem Post editorial was not available today.
[Ben Caspit, Zalman Shoval and Efraim Halevy wrote today’s articles in Ma\’ariv, Yisrael Hayom and Yediot Aharonot respectively.]