Russia: President Vladimir Putin hosted the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, in Russia on Wednesday for talks on military coordination as tensions flared in the Middle East over apparent Israeli airstrikes on Syria and the Trump administration’s exit from a nuclear deal with Iran.
Netanyahu arrived in Russia after Syrian state-run media said Israeli warplanes had targeted a military outpost near Damascus overnight. Nine people were killed when missiles hit depots and rocket launchers that probably belonged to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards in Kisweh, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.
The Kremlin, which backs the regime of Bashar al-Assad in the seven-year Syrian civil war, said Putin had discussed the attacks with senior members of his security council.
Netanyahu said before his trip to Moscow that “in light of what is currently happening in Syria, it is necessary to ensure continued coordination” between the Russian and Syria militaries. He made no mention of the airstrikes, and Tel Aviv has not commented. Russia and Israel have set up a hotline to avoid accidental clashes in Syria.