In an apparent allusion to Syria, Putin said: "I think there are
understandable reasons for these intensive contacts (with Israel), given
the complicated situation in the region."
Russian forces in Syria fired on Israeli military aircraft - newspaper
Russian forces in Syria have fired at least twice on Israeli military aircraft, prompting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to seek improved operational coordination with Moscow, Israel's top-selling newspaper said on Friday.
The
unsourced report in Yedioth Ahronoth gave no dates or locations for the
incidents nor any indication Israeli planes were hit. Russia mounted
its military intervention in Syria in September to shore Damascus up
amid a now 5-year-old rebellion.
Separately,
Israel's Channel 10 TV said a Russian warplane approached an Israeli
warplane off the Mediterranean coast of Syria last week but that there
was no contact between them.
An Israeli military
spokesman declined comment. Netanyahu's office and the Russian embassy
in Israel did not immediately respond.
Israel,
which has repeatedly bombed Syria to foil suspected arms handovers to
Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas, was quick to set up an operational
hotline with Moscow designed to avoid accidentally trading fire with
Russian interventionary forces.
Visiting Moscow on Thursday, Netanyahu told Russian President Vladimir Putin in televised remarks: "I
came here with one main goal - to strengthen the security coordination
between us so as to avoid mishaps, misunderstandings and unnecessary
confrontations."
In an apparent allusion to Syria, Putin said: "I
think there are understandable reasons for these intensive contacts
(with Israel), given the complicated situation in the region."
According
to Yedioth, the reported Russian fire on Israeli planes was first
raised with Putin by Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, who visited Moscow
on March 15. At the time, Putin responded that he was unaware of the
incidents, Yedioth said.
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