The Russian government summoned the Israeli ambassador to explain his country's air raids in Syria, the Guardian has learned.

The summons of Gary Koren was made on Friday, and has been confirmed by Russia's foreign ministry. Israel's man in Moscow was asked to defend a recent firefight between Syrian government forces and Israeli jets. Mikhail Bogdanov, the Russian deputy foreign minister, said his government had "expressed concern".

Russia is militarily involved in the country, backing President Bashar Assad in the ongoing civil war; according to Channel 2 in Israel, an Israeli strike in Syria last week hit close to Russian forces.

In 2016, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin were observed forging closer diplomatic ties.

On Sunday, however, Israel's second-ranking official threatened to wipe out the air force of Assad, Moscow's ally.

"The next time the Syrians use their air defense systems against our airplanes, we will destroy all of them without thinking twice," Avigdor Lieberman, the defense minister, told public radio.

Lieberman, traditionally a hardliner, said his country's core objection to Assad is Syria's partnership with the powerful Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which backs the Damascus government along with the Kremlin and Iran.

"Our central problem, and this above and beyond all of the other issues, is the transfer of advanced weapons from Syria to Lebanon," Lieberman said. His country fought a war against Hezbollah in 2006, Israel's second formal armed conflict with Lebanon.

"Every time we identify a transfer like this, we will work to prevent the transfer of game-changing weapons. On this issue there will not be any compromise,"Lieberman pledged.

Bashar al-Jaafari, the Syrian ambassador to the United Nations, insisted on Sunday that the military response was appropriate, and "in line with Israel's terrorist operation."

The ambassador said the Kremlin's meeting with Israel was a stern reprisal. He said that Putin had communicated, as far as Israeli involvement in Syria is concerned, that the "game is over."