Russia, Israel discuss cooperation on Syria

By Jeyhun Aliyev

ANKARA (AA) - Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday discussed the Russian-Israeli cooperation on Syria over the phone.

The top officials discussed a number of topics on the bilateral agenda, the Kremlin said in a statement published on its official website.

Putin and Netanyahu also discussed Russian president's planned visit to Israel in January 2020, the statement added.

Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011 when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.

Since then, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and more than 10 million others displaced, according to UN officials.