JERUSALEM (AFP)---Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was to leave for Russia later on Sunday with Moscow on the verge of backing tough international sanctions against Iran.
This is Netanyahu's first official trip to Moscow since taking office a year ago, but follows a clandestine visit in September, a secretive move that highlighted the key role Russia plays in Israel's drive to thwart Tehran's nuclear weapons ambitions.
"We will discuss a range of issues, but first and foremost Iran," Netanyahu told a cabinet meeting hours before he was due to leave for Moscow.
"Israel believes that strong pressure must be applied to Iran, especially very tough sanctions," he said, echoing his calls last week for "crippling sanctions" on the Islamic republic.
Netanyahu was due to hold talks with President Dmitry Medvedev, Prime Minister ladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as well as members of Russia's Jewish community, officials said.
The visit comes a week after Russia questioned the "sincerity" of Iran's pledges not to develop nuclear weapons and, in a policy shift, said fresh UN sanctions on Tehran were a "realistic" option.
Iran declared on Tuesday it had started the process of producing 20 percent enriched uranium, as the United States stepped up its efforts to pass a new round of sanctions against Tehran by the United Nations Security Council.
Russia, one of the five permanent member of the Security Council with the power to veto any resolution, has in recent weeks toughened its stance towards Iran.
Israel, like the West, suspects Iran of trying to develop atomic weapons under the guise of its nuclear programme, a charge Tehran denies.
Israel considers the Islamic republic its top enemy after repeated statements by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that the Jewish state was doomed to be "wiped off the map" and the scale of the Holocaust was exaggerated.
Bringing Moscow on board for harsher sanctions has been a key goal of Israel and the United States.
Russia has long-standing ties with Tehran and is helping to build Iran's first civilian nuclear power plant in the city of Bushehr, but Moscow says it is opposed to Tehran acquiring an atomic weapon.
"Israel will be encouraging Russia to join the American effort to impose sanctions on Iran and coordinate its positions with Moscow," said Israeli strategic analyst Yossi Alpher.
Israel, along with Washington, has also refused to rule out a military strike against Iran if sanctions fail.
Here too, Russia is crucial to Israel's plans.
Israel has for years tried to convince Russia not to sell its advanced S-300 surface-to-air missile systems to Iran, which the Jewish state fears Tehran could deploy around its controversial nuclear sites.
Israeli officials have warned that the delivery of S-300s could force Israel to pre-empt a raid, since the nuclear sites would be much harder to attack once the missiles are installed.
Mideast peace conference
Russia's interest in hosting a Middle East peace conference could also be on the agenda.
"The Russians want to be more involved in the peace process in the Middle East and fulfill their great power ambitions," said Alpher. "It won't happen without Netanyahu's agreement, so he could give them this."
Israel has traditionally preferred US-mediated talks, although the current peace process has been stalled for more than a year despite months of shuttle diplomacy efforts by US envoy George Mitchell.
Russia has also irked Israel by hosting Khaled Meshaal, the exiled political supremo of the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, which is classified by Israel, the European Union and United States as a terrorist organisation.
Alpher said it was unlikely the visit would result in the announcement of a peace conference. "The Russians will not take this initiative until it appears that there is a chance for success, and that is unlikely now," he said.