Israel offers to help Russia fight terror
September 15, 2004
JERUSALEM (AP) - Israel has sent intelligence officers to Russia and is hosting at least two senior Russian officers in Tel Aviv in quiet moves to upgrade anti-terror cooperation with Moscow in the wake of a series of devastating attacks in Russia, officials said.
The Israeli moves come as President Vladimir Putin revamps Russia’s anti-terrorism capabilities after a school seizure by separatists in southern Russia ended with the deaths of at least 330 hostages, including many children.
A team of Israeli intelligence officers arrived discreetly in Russia shortly after the hostage standoff to discuss a program to share Israeli expertise, three officials close to the mission said.
Because of the political sensitivities surrounding the contacts, the officials asked that their names and nationalities not be revealed.
The officials said Russia was particularly interested in learning more about airport and air-traffic security in light of the Aug. 24 bombing of two Russian passenger jets.
The officials said the main purpose of the trip was to explain to Russia how Israel can help. The Israeli team has returned to Israel and is awaiting word on whether Russia will accept the offer of greater cooperation, the officials said.
At the same time, at least two senior Russian officers have arrived in Israel to examine a police anti-terrorism facility, said an Israeli official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Details about the contacts remained sketchy. Israel and Russia have been loath to divulge much information about their cooperation.
Israel’s Shin Bet intelligence service and the Israeli Foreign Ministry refused to confirm or deny the Israeli assistance.
Israeli Vice Premier Ehud Olmert said there are continuous, ongoing contacts between Israeli and Russian security services.
"I think there is a growing realization in Russia that they have to become more prepared for future terror attacks and that it’s a good idea to compare notes with us," he said.
Israeli counterterror techniques are among the world’s most sophisticated, and its public, no-strings-attached offer of assistance could provide a wealth of information.
But the cooperation poses problems for a Kremlin seeking to avoid alienating the Muslim world, where Russia has had long-standing political and economic ties.
This is especially true of Iran, where Russia is helping develop a nuclear energy program and maintaining a diplomatic and economic foothold.
Russia’s Federal Security Service, the main KGB successor, said it had no information about new Israeli-Russian intelligence cooperation.
Spokesmen at Russia’s Interior and Foreign ministries and the Russian Embassy in Tel Aviv also had no immediate comment.
Officials in Israel pointed out that some of the recent contacts between Israelis and Russians had been planned before the latest attacks in Russia - and that increased intelligence cooperation is at an early stage.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov visited the Jewish state as part of a Mideast tour just days after the school hostage tragedy.
During the visit, Israel repeatedly offered help and pushed for a global anti-terror alliance, saying the school attack showed the wide threat of Islamic violence to world security.
But Lavrov was cool to the Israeli advances, at least in public, saying any counterterrorism alliance would have to include Russia’s traditional allies in the Arab world.
Israeli officials said Lavrov was more receptive in private.
One such official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that "there’s interest" by the Russians to get more information from Israel and that both countries are "looking at ways to improve and expand" bilateral cooperation.
The chairman of the Security Committee of Russia’s lower house of Parliament, the State Duma, was in Israel this week to address an anti-terrorism conference in the coastal town of Herzliya.
In his speech Sunday, Vladimir Vasilyev thanked Israel for its cooperation in the field of aviation security and noted that Israel and Russia would continue to work together to fight terrorism, specifically in safeguarding public places.
Uri Bar-Noi, an expert on Russian anti-terrorism policy at the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism in Herzliya, said one advantage Russia has in going to the Israelis for help is that "unlike Europe or the United States, no limits would be imposed on" Russian "operations in Chechnya."
He added, however, that "Israel might try for a quid pro quo on Russia helping Iran."
SOURCE: Columbia Daily Tribune