<p>Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday cautioned against foreign interference in Syria during a rare visit to Israel aimed at burnishing Kremlin’s credentials as a key Middle East power broker.<br /><br /></p>.<p>“From the very beginning of the so-called Arab Spring, Russia has been persuading its partners that democratic changes should take place in a civilised manner and without external intervention,” Putin said after meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his first visit to the country since 2005.<br /><br />Analysts see Putin’s trip to Israel followed by a visit to the West Bank and Jordan as a diplomatic mission as world powers scramble for a solution to stop the bloodshed in Syria and resolve Iran’s nuke crisis.<br /><br />Russia is pushing for an international Syria conference and has already discussed the plan with Jordan as well as the European Union, Iran and Iraq. <br /><br />Putin’s strident rhetoric and a flat-out refusal to support sanctions against Moscow’s Soviet-era ally Syria has pitted him against the West, but the Russian strongman found a grateful audience in Israel.</p>
<p>Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday cautioned against foreign interference in Syria during a rare visit to Israel aimed at burnishing Kremlin’s credentials as a key Middle East power broker.<br /><br /></p>.<p>“From the very beginning of the so-called Arab Spring, Russia has been persuading its partners that democratic changes should take place in a civilised manner and without external intervention,” Putin said after meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his first visit to the country since 2005.<br /><br />Analysts see Putin’s trip to Israel followed by a visit to the West Bank and Jordan as a diplomatic mission as world powers scramble for a solution to stop the bloodshed in Syria and resolve Iran’s nuke crisis.<br /><br />Russia is pushing for an international Syria conference and has already discussed the plan with Jordan as well as the European Union, Iran and Iraq. <br /><br />Putin’s strident rhetoric and a flat-out refusal to support sanctions against Moscow’s Soviet-era ally Syria has pitted him against the West, but the Russian strongman found a grateful audience in Israel.</p>