Russian President Vladimir Putin urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to avoid any further action that would lead to more conflict in Syria.
The two leaders discussed the situation in Syria in a telephone call on Saturday after heavy Israeli air strikes in the country, Interfax news agency cited the Kremlin as saying.
Anti-aircraft fire downed an Israeli warplane returning from a bombing raid on Iran-backed positions in Syria earlier on Saturday in the most serious confrontations yet between Israel and Iranian-backed forces based across the border. Israel said it struck 12 Iranian and Syrian targets in Syria, including Syrian air defence systems.
“They discussed the situation around the actions of the Israeli air force, which carried our missile strikes on targets in Syria,” Interfax quoted the Kremlin as saying.
America told Israel is was “deeply concerned” about the violence Saturday, but said the country has the right to defend itself.
“The United States is deeply concerned about today’s escalation of violence over Israel’s border and strongly supports Israel’s sovereign right to defend itself,” said State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert.
“Iran’s calculated escalation of threat and its ambition to project its power and dominance, places all the people of the region - from Yemen to Lebanon - at risk.”
The UK Foreign Office confirmed Britain was aware of the reports but told the National it would not comment at this stage.
