National Security Adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat recently visited Moscow and met with Russia’s Security Council chief Nikolai Patrushev and other Russian officials, Channel 10 News reported on Tuesday.
The talks reportedly focused on Russia’s request for “new understandings” regarding southern Syria after Israel asked Russia to prevent Iran from gaining a foothold there.
Ben-Shabbat has met with Patrushev a number of times since he was appointed head of the NSC in August 2017, when Russia was already deeply involved in the Syrian war. The two held meetings in February of this year, as well as in October 2017.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on June 15 about the situation in Syria. The i24News website reported that the two leaders promised to continue their security coordination in Syria.
Meanwhile, U.S. officials confirmed on Tuesday that Israel carried out an airstrike in Syria overnight on Sunday.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that nearly 50 Syrian military personnel had been killed in the strike, which was close to the Syria-Iraq border.
