MOSCOW. March 17 (Interfax) - While Israel is willing to try to address Iran's presence in Syria in a dialogue with Russia and other partners, it reserves the right to exercise self-defense, Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi said.
"Israel reserves the right to self-defense. We won't allow the Iranians to use Syria for actions against us, and we'll do all we can to ensure our security," Ashkenazi said at a press conference following negotiations with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday.
"We will stand ready to try to resolve this Iranian issue together with Russia and other countries in some other way, and we would be happy to do so in principle," Ashkenazi said when asked whether Israel is willing to heed Moscow's calls and stop attacks on Syria.