US vice president tells Peres weapons being channeled from Syria, Iran to terrorist organizations.
By JPOST.COM STAFFPeres meets Cheney 22488(photo credit: GPO [file])
"Russia has sold advanced weapons to the regimes in Syria and Iran. Some of the Russian weapons sold to Damascus have been channeled to terrorist fighters in Lebanon and Iraq," said US Vice President Dick Cheney during a conference in Italy Saturday evening.
"Russian arms-dealing has endangered the prospects for peace and freedom in [the Middle East]," he continued.
Cheney later met privately with President Shimon Peres, where, according to Peres, the two discussed "the situation in the Middle East, its prospects." Peres also said he wanted to hear Cheney's opinion on Georgia and other hot spots.
The two also discussed progress in talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, and the Iranian nuclear threat.
Both leaders were in the resort of Cernobbio on Lake Como to attend an annual gathering of global political and business leaders. Cheney's visit was part of a tour which has also included Georgia, Ukraine and Azerbaijan.
AP contributed to this report.
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![Peres meets Cheney 22488 (photo credit: GPO [file])](https://images.jpost.com/image/upload/q_auto/c_fill,g_faces:center,h_537,w_822/20282 "Peres meets Cheney 22488")