Israel and Russia have been in intensive contact in recent days on humanitarian issues related to the Syrian civil war, it was cleared for publication Tuesday evening.
Cabinet ministers were summoned for an urgent meeting in a video conference and not through a ZOOM at 6 PM Tuesday. A source familiar with the details stated that the meeting dealt with a "security" matter.
In recent days, there have been telephone conversations between Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin, between Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu, and between Foreign Minister Ashkenazi and his Russian counterpart Lavrov.
On Wednesday, Defense Minister Gantz spoke with Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu "regarding security challenges in the Middle East and Syria in particular." Ganz and Shoygu agreed to continue the important dialogue between Russia and Israel in order to maintain the security of the forces, as well as the need to promote humanitarian measures in the region.
In March 2019, the body of missing IDF soldier Zachary Baumel, who has been missing since the Battle of Sultan Yacoub in 1982, was brought to Israel with Russian assistance.