October 26, 2007 (LPAC)--A Russian delegation including Russian Deputy Foreign Minister for the Middle East Alexander Saltanov, and special Russian peace envoy, Sergei Yakovlev, held talks in Israel on Iran and Syria, as well as Palestinian and Israeli relations this week.

On Syria, according to Ha'aretz, they said Israel should send Damascus "signals" about the benefits it would gain by changing its policies on Iran. "If you want them to do something like disengaging from Iran, give them good reason to assume it will be worth their while," they are reported to have told their Israeli counterparts, which included Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, and Foreign Ministry director general Aharon Abramowitz.

On Iran, the Russians said they were committed to ensuring that Iran did not acquire nuclear weapons. "We also don't want that to happen. Remember that the distance between Tehran and Tel Aviv is identical to that between Tehran and Moscow," the Russians said. They also said that Iran is not anywhere near the construction of a bomb.

"The difference between us and you, is that you're basing yourselves on estimates, whereas we're basing ourselves on precise information. When we see that the situation is sufficiently dangerous, we'll know how to stop the Iranians, and if we want to, we can do this without difficulty."

They also objected to the way the US is managing the efforts to get sanctions.

"They invited us to an American restaurant with a French chef, and expect us to eat without asking questions," one said.