Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with Russia’s special representative for Syria Alexander Lavrentiev and Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin in Jerusalem on Jan. 29, 2019. Photo: Amos Ben Gershom/GPO.

JNS.org – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with two senior Russian officials on Tuesday to discuss the issues regarding Iran and Syria.

He met in Jerusalem with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin and Russia’s envoy for Syrian affairs, Alexander Lavrentiev, to talk about Iran and the situation in Syria, in addition to strengthening the security coordination between the two countries to avoid further friction, according to a statement from the prime minister’s office.

The Russian diplomats stressed their own country’s commitment to maintaining Israeli national security, said the prime minister’s office.

The meeting came as tensions between Jerusalem and Moscow have increased since the accidental downing of a Russian plane by Syrian forces that resulted in the deaths of 15 crew members, following an Israeli airstrike in October.

Earlier this month, in response to Israel launching a retaliatory massive attack on numerous Iranian targets in Syria, such as a site at Damascus International Airport, Russia warned the Jewish state to cease its “arbitrary” airstrikes in Syria, saying that they should be “ruled out.”