The chief rabbi of Russia, Berel Lazar, spoke at the annual Limmud FSU conference in Moscow on Friday and referred to the results of the Israeli elections.

"I think it was very well felt during Binyamin Netanyahu's visit to Moscow – especially the way Putin received him, which gave the general feeling that the good relationship between Russia and Israel is greatly because of the personal relations between President Putin and Netanyahu," said Rabbi Lazar.

The chief rabbi further elaborated in a public interview given to 2,000 Jewish youths, saying that "we are very optimistic about the results, and we hope that the relations between the two countries will become even stronger.”

“I hope that Russia will do everything to help the State of Israel, and Israel in return will try to help Russia with everything it needs," Rabbi Lazar added.

(Arutz Sheva’s North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)