JERUSALEM. Nov 8 (Interfax) - Israel has cut military cooperation with Georgia at Russia's request and is expecting Russia to make similar steps in relation to countries bordering Israel, including Syria and Iran, said the Israeli Foreign Ministry's Eurasia Department Director Yaakov Livne.
"A request arrived (from Russia concerning Georgia) and we have taken it into account and stopped cooperating with Georgia at a scale that may be a peril to Russia's interests. And we expect Moscow to make a similar step, of course," Livne told Russian reporters in Jerusalem.
Livne said he meant Russia's cooperation "with Syria, with Iran and with all other states which claim openly that they want to wage a war against Israel, or just do not want to see a Zionist regime here."
"We are well aware that Russia has its interests in the Trans-Caucasus - whether in Georgia or elsewhere. It is no secret, either, that we have cancelled quite a few enticing and sizable arms deals with Georgia. So we expect Russia to behave in a similar way in relation to Israel," the Israel diplomat said.
"It is not bilateral relations alone, that matters here," he continued. "I think Russia, as a member of the Quartet on the Middle East, which, as it claims and as we see, is interested in forging realistic approaches and in stability in the region, must not seek change in the alignment of forces. And we hear a confirmation of this from our Russian colleagues, by the way," Livne said.
"We understand at the same time, that the Russian defense industry is in need of markets and exports. But a balance must be found here somehow between different interests - something we have been doing and Russia ought to do, instead of dealing blows on the partner's extremely important priorities," the Israeli diplomat said.
"While this is happening in some areas, there are setbacks in others," he said. Military cooperation started from scratch after Russia and Israel restored diplomatic relations 20 years ago, he said.
For various reasons, cooperation in this sector was making difficult headway in the first years, because old ties were still linking the former Soviet Union and Russia with some of Israel's neighbors, he said. "Of course, this was an irritant for many in Israel, and a factor which was counterproductive in many ways," the Israeli diplomat said.
"When a story about the sale of Yakhont missile systems to Syria is front-paged in Israel, you understand how important this issue is for us," he said.
"Perhaps a missile that can hit a ship 300 kilometers away is no big deal for Russia, but it is for us," he added.
The states must not necessarily come to terms on all issues, but stronger efforts must be made to achieve better understanding, he said.
"It is clear that if high technology is involved, including know-how that can be used for security purposes, it won't be the first thing on which we will cooperate. A certain amount of trust must be present, which is emerging step-by-step," he said.
There are quite a few projects, including security projects, in which Israel and Russia are cooperating - sometimes at a bilateral level, and sometimes for third countries, Livne said.
"For instance, we have developed an AWACS aircraft jointly with Russia, which we sell to India. It is not a bad project, estimated at $2 billion, or even $3 billion," Livne said.
"It's big for both Israel and Russia, given that Russia exports about $10 billon worth of arms each year and Israel - $7 billion - $8 billion, which means we can cooperate at a normal level," he said.
Asked by Interfax whether Israel maintains military-technical cooperation with Georgia to any extent, Livne said, "if such cooperation exists, it is limited."
"Russian colleagues have no reason to criticize Israel in this respect. I wish Israel had no reason for similar criticism with regards to Russia's policy," he said.