I would hardly call Putin backing Saddam to the hilt, especially compared to the vast majority of our NATO allies. As for selling weapons to Syria, that is silly. On the other hand, Russia sells oil to Israel and the FSB and Mossad have close working relationships. Putin also turned down Arafat 3 times on Arafag's desire to declare his own state.
Silly in that it's a stupid idea on Putin's part.