Sergey Naryshkin, head of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service. Photo: Kremlin.ru via Wikimedia Commons.

JNS.org – The director of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, Sergey Naryshkin, reportedly visited Israel last week to meet with senior security officials for talks on Syria and Iran, Israel’s Channel 10 reported.

The Russian intelligence chief reportedly met with Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, Mossad Director Yossi Cohen and National Security Adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat.

Naryshkin’s purported visit to Israel came after Russian President Vladimir Putin, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met in the Russian resort city of Sochi last week. The leaders agreed to establish a conference aimed at resolving the Syrian civil war and framing the “the future structure” of Syria.

During their meeting with Naryshkin, the Israeli officials reportedly stated that Israel is not bound by any agreements reached during the Sochi summit. The Israelis also reiterated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s stance that the Jewish state is not bound by the recently negotiated ceasefire deal in southern Syria and will continue to act against Damascus in order to protect its security interests.

In a surprise visit to Russia last week, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad relayed a message to Israel via Moscow that Damascus would be willing to implement a 25-mile buffer zone along Israel’s border with Syria. Putin reportedly delivered the Syrian offer to Netanyahu in a phone call.