A senior political source said today that "what President Putin did was far from being self-evident."
The source rejected claims of a connection between the timing of the Zechariah Baumel declaration and the elections, saying "We didn't know until today's ceremony what and how much they're willing for us to detail. Once there are remains of a soldier and his mother's 90-years-old you don't hold such information."
The source said that during a telephone conversation between Netanyahu and Putin earlier this week, the Prime Minister asked that finding Baumel's body not harm Russian efforts to locate the bodies of the two other IDF missing in action from Sultan Yaakov, Yehuda Katz and Zvi Feldman.
He said the issue was also made clear in a conversation between National Security Advisor Meir Ben Shabat and his Russian counterpart.
The source added that relations between Putin and Netanyahu serve Israel in a wide range of fields and efforts and will continue to be deepened. He said Russia did not demand any compensation for the move.
