Israel Believes Russia to Do Everything to Prevent Hezbollah Getting Arms

Zvi Heifetz, the ambassador of Israel in Moscow, said that it is "vitally important" for Israel to rule out presence of Iran and Hezbollah on the country’s northern borders.

MOSCOW(Sputnik) – Israel believes that Russia will do everything in its powers to prevent arms falling into the hands of the Lebanese Hezbollah movement, the ambassador in Moscow told Sputnik Friday.

"Russia has repeatedly stated that it was not delivering arms to Hezbollah, and as far as I understand it has no intentions to do so in the future. I believe that Russia would to everything in its powers to prevent arms falling into the hands of Hezbollah terrorists," Zvi Heifetz said.

According to the diplomat, it is "vitally important" for Israel to rule out presence of Iran and Hezbollah on the country’s northern borders.

"It is no less important to Israel that Hezbollah do not receive weapons from Iran directly or through the Syrian territory," Heifetz stressed.

Hezbollah, established in the 1980s, is a paramilitary and political organization originating in Lebanon's Shiite population. The group initially aimed to end Israel's occupation of Southern Lebanon. On May 25, 2000, Israel withdrew from Lebanon, which Hezbollah widely saw as its victory.

In 2006, a 34-day military conflict started between Hezbollah paramilitary forces and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The conflict ended as a UN-brokered ceasefire took effect, and Israel lifted its naval blockade of Lebanon.