On July 23rd, a Russian delegation led by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, part of which was the chief of the general staff of the Russian armed forces, General Valery Gerasimov met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman and Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Gadi Eisenko in Jerusalem. The meeting was reportedly held after a short notice visit, ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation posted a press release on the meeting between the officials. It explains that the meeting included discussions on various aspects of the Middle East agenda focusing on the situation in and around Syria. They also mentioned the Palestinian-Israeli settlement process in continuation of the meeting between Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Putin in Moscow on July 11th. What was also discussed in detail is the completion of the anti-terrorist operation in southern Syria and the provision of security along the Israeli border, including the implementation of the 1974 Agreement on Separation of Forces. Topics of bilateral relations were also part of the meeting.
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs also released a neutral statement confirming that the situation in Syria and Iran’s role in it were discussed.