Russian National Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meet in Jerusalem, June 24, 2019. Photo: Haim Zah / GPO.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met in Jerusalem on Monday with visiting Russian National Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev.

The Russian official was in the Jewish state to attend a tripartite summit on Tuesday with his American and Israeli counterparts, John Bolton and Meir Ben-Shabbat, on regional security issues.

“Israel will not allow Iran, which calls for our destruction, to entrench on our border; we will do everything to prevent it from attaining nuclear weapons,” Netanyahu told Patrushev on Monday. “Self-defense is a very important lesson of 20th-century history, certainly for the Jewish people and its state.”

“Our joint goal is to advance substantive dialogue together with the US in order to deal with the complex security challenges of our region, while expressing commitment to Israel’s security,” Netanyahu stated.

Bolton, who met with Netanyahu on Sunday, also sat down with Patrushev on Monday.

“We and our teams covered Ukraine, arms control, Venezuela, and other issues,” Bolton tweeted. “Looking forward to historic trilateral meeting tomorrow on Middle East regional security with our Israeli counterpart Meir Ben-Shabbat.”

Met w/ my Russian counterpart Nikolay Patrushev in Jerusalem today. We and our teams covered Ukraine, arms control, Venezuela, and other issues. Looking forward to historic trilateral meeting tomorrow on Middle East regional security with our Israeli counterpart Meir Ben-Shabbat. pic.twitter.com/ImO3vXXanr

— John Bolton (@AmbJohnBolton) June 24, 2019