Russian President Vladimir Putin sees Iran as a “strategic partner” to Russia which is “not good news for Israel,” a Russian expert told Ben Cohen of The Algemeiner on Wednesday.

Discussing the significance of Putin’s trip to Iran and his meetings with top Iranian officials, Anna Borshchevskaya, a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said that Russia supports the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, which is called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and won’t likely agree to any changes because “they wanted the JCPOA, they wanted Iran to get sanctions relief so they could trade, and they saw the agreement as a victory for their own diplomacy.”

Borshchevskaya didn’t see Russia objecting to a greater Iranian presence in Syria, even on Israel’s border.

“The Iranians may not have identical strategic goals to the Russians, but these don’t necessarily conflict,” she added. Moreover, the Russian-Iranian alliance is that “they have a common enemy in America, and that brings them together more than anything else.”

While Israel has ties with Russia and has maintained freedom to act against threats emanating from Syria, Borshchevskaya said that the emerging partnership between Russia and Iran should of great concern to Israel.

“Israel should have no illusions that Russia is going to be an honest broker, or a voice of reason or moderation,” she warned, adding, “Putin’s primary interest is in having Iran as a strategic partner, and that’s not good news for Israel.”

“He is very good at balancing all these relationships — Kurds, Iranians, Saudis, Israelis,” Borshchevskaya, said, noting the Putin has recently hosted both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Saudi Arabian King Salman, “but his main priority is Iran.”

[Photo: Mehr News]