"As for recent Israeli strikes, we have stated that such arbitrary attacks on a sovereign state must stop," he said. "I would like to point out that our military has a deconfliction line with Israel, which has been operating for over a year. We work to upgrade it," Vershinin added.

"Any attacks additionally worsen the situation," the senior Russian diplomat stressed. "No one’s actions in Syria can go beyond the fight against terrorists," he pointed out.

On January 20, the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported that the country’s air defenses had thwarted an Israeli air strike in the country’s south. The Russian Defense Ministry, in turn, said that Syrian air defenses had thwarted an attack on Duvali Airport in southeast Damascus carried out by Israel’s F-16 planes. The attack killed four Syrian military servicemen and left six wounded. More than 30 Israel missiles and aviation bombs were destroyed.

On January 13, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel was ready to increase attacks on Iranian facilities in Syria in order to prevent Tehran from strengthening its position in the country.