Netanyahu says will hold meeting with Putin soon

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had a phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin and agreed to hold a meeting with him soon.

"Some time ago I spoke with Putin by phone. We agreed to hold a meeting soon to maintain important coordination between our countries’ armies," Netanyahu told the government, according to his Chancellery.

"Israel will continue taking steps in order not to allow Iran to create military bases in Syria and prevent Iran from handing over lethal arms to the Hezbollah movement in Lebanon," Netanyahu said.

The prime minister’s Chancellery has not revealed the date of the upcoming meeting. This will be the first meeting between Putin and Netanyahu after the Russian electronic surveillance Il-20 plane was accidently downed by Syrian air defenses over the Mediterranean Sea when it was returning to the Hmeymim airbase. Russian top brass said a missile from Syria’s S-200 system downed the aircraft when it targeted four Israeli F-16 fighter jets, which attacked facilities in Latakia. The Israeli Air Force and those who made the decision to use the Il-20 aircraft as cover are solely to blame for its crash, Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov said.

After that incident Russia handed over to Syria 49 units of equipment as part of delivering the S-300 missile system aimed at increasing security of the Russian military in Syria. Syrian specialists will learn how to use the S-300 system within three months, and an effort to install a centralized control system for the Syrian air defense network will be completed by October 20.