Objective: Make Putin stop Iran

Ever since Russian forces entered Syria two years ago to fight Syrian President Bashar Assad's fight, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin have made a habit of meeting every few months to ensure full coordination between the two leaders, as well as between the two countries' military commanders, to prevent any unwanted friction in Syria.

Their success has been resounding, as evidenced by the fact that the Russians did as they pleased in Syria and managed to quell the rebellion against the regime in Damascus, while Israel maintained full operational freedom when action was deemed necessary, for example to strike Iranian weapons convoys bound for Hezbollah.

Israel's problem, however, has never been with Russia's presence in Syria, but rather with the presence of Iran and Hezbollah, Moscow's partners in the campaign to salvage the Assad regime.

At the behest of the Russians, Iran thrust tens of thousands of fighters into the fray -- Iranian troops, Hezbollah guerillas and Shiite volunteers from across the Middle East. These contingents currently represent a significant fighting force on the Syrian battlefield.

Now though, as the war appears to be ending on a victorious note for Putin, Assad and the Iranians, a new struggle begins in Syria over control and influence. Iran and Hezbollah have the upper hand in this struggle, due to their military presence on the ground in Syria.

Their goal is clear -- to turn Syria into a forward operating base to threaten Israel and perhaps even act against it, which they have already tried doing on numerous occasions along the border in the Golan Heights. According to recent reports from Syria, the Iranians are looking to build military bases there and Tehran is already in the process of building a missile production facility for Hezbollah in the country's northwest.

Clearly, Israel cannot tolerate an Iranian presence on its border, or even deeper inside Syria. The Russians don't seem to understand this position. They are willing to push the Iranians further from the Israeli border but they need the Iranians there to ensure continued stability in Syria. Therefore, the task awaiting Netanyahu in his upcoming meeting with Putin is to make him understand Israel's position. This task is especially important in light of Washington's unwillingness to play any kind of role in shaping Syria's future.

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