Russia and Iran have joined forces to back President Bashar Assad throughout the Syrian conflict. Russia has waged a military campaign in Syria since September 2015, helping Assad’s forces score a series of victories and win back key ground. At the same time, Russia has sought to maintain friendly ties with Israel, and the two countries’ militaries have established close communications to avoid collisions in Syria. Speaking in a video statement after his talks with Putin, Netanyahu hailed what he described as a “good and in-depth” meeting. “I told him that Israel views with severity two developments,” Netanyahu said.

Source: thestar January 29, 2018 19:41 UTC