Relations between relations between and shows the telephone communication, the third in less than five months that the Russian president and the Israeli prime minister had on Monday to discuss current developments in the, according to.
As Israeli media report, with Putin confirmed Moscow’s position “in favor of a comprehensive settlement of the Palestinian issue”. They also talked about finding a solution in the Iranian nuclear program and how to achieve further stabilization in Syria.
This was their third telephone communication in 2025, with the previous ones taking place in August and May. At that time, it was the first time the two leaders had spoken after December 2023, when Netanyahu had left a cabinet meeting for almost an hour, according to the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth to speak with Putin.
That debate allegedly took place in a tense climate after Israel said it criticized Moscow’s alliance with Iran and expressed dissatisfaction with its stance on Israel’s war with Hamas. The Kremlin, meanwhile, stressed “the devastating humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip” and that Putin insisted that Israel’s military response to Hamas’ terrorist attack could not lead to “such a terrible consequences for the civilian population”.
Old friends
But before 2023, things were quite different. “Israel and Russia: Best friends? Netanyahu’s budding “sticky relationship” with Putin, “Washington Post wrote in 2016. At that time, the Israeli prime minister allegedly had a thorny relationship with then US President Obama. Instead, he had invested a lot in Putin, whom he met three times that year – while Obama only one.
Many were talking about a “brotherly relationship” between the Russian president and the Israeli prime minister, with the Israeli newspaper Haaretz noting that “it would not be an exaggeration to say that the links between Israel and Russia were never better”.
A striking example was Israel’s stance in 2014 when, despite Washington’s pressure, he refused to join Western governments to condemn Crimea’s annexation by Russia. Haaretz then wrote about “maintaining the status of strict neutrality”.
Another example is when Russia first developed its army for Syria -fractured in September 2015 to support Bashar al -Assad’s bloodthirsty regime. Within a few days, Netanyahu was in Moscow as head of a military delegation for an unplanned meeting with Putin.
The two leaders then reached an agreement that Israel would continue to operate in Syria’s airspace, but would only attack goals associated with his enemy, Iran, leaving Assad’s forces intact. Indeed, for easier cooperation, a “mechanism of congestion” had been created, including a telephone line between the Russian Center for Administration in Syria and the Israeli Air Force Headquarters, as CNN transmitted.
Netanyahu was so proud of this that in 2019 he used photos with Putin as part of his election campaign. After all, he repeatedly claimed that their relationship was beneficial to Israel’s strategic interests.
Shift of Netanyahu
When Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Netanyahu was not at the office. Israel’s prime minister was Nftali Benett, who complied with the policy of neutrality.
Benett had then explained to Haaretz that “we are not in the same position as other countries. We have Russia right next to our borders in Syria. We must take into account the presence of large Jewish communities in both Russia and Ukraine, which could be affected. And in addition, it is useful for everyone to have a government such as Israel that has good ties on both sides to serve as an intermediary. “
Ten months after the Russian invasion, Netanyahu returned to office. But suddenly he appeared much less friendly to Putin. He received a congratulatory phone call from him a week before his swearing -in, but that was all. Meanwhile, in media interviews, he said he was reviewing Israel’s policy in Ukraine.
A former Israeli intelligence officer had explained to CNN that this was the case for three reasons.
First, Russia had significantly diluted its forces in Syria, as it was necessary in Ukraine, “so the threat to Israel was now negligible” and secondly, Russia was now using Iranian drones and rockets on the battlefield. Thirdly, it seems to be an attempt to re-exhaust Israeli-American relations, as Netanyahu’s government coalition with far-right parties was treated with suspicion and dissatisfaction with the Biden government.
