Putin meets senior Iranian adviser following talks with Netanyahu

MOSCOW - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday met Ali Akbar Velayati, senior adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, hours after his talk with the Israeli premier.

According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Putin and Velayati discussed the Syria issue, and reaffirmed their commitment to the Iran nuclear deal.

Velayati conveyed the messages from Khamenei and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to Putin, Peskov said, without disclosing any related details.

Their meeting came hours after Putin held talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu mainly on Syria.

The Israeli prime minister said that his country would fight back any attempt to violate its air or land borders. This statement came shortly after the Israeli military claimed that it had shot down a drone from Syria approaching its border.

Russia is a key ally to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad while the role of Iran, another Assad ally, is what Israel worries about.

Demanding all Iranian forces withdraw from Syria, Israel has reportedly carried out several deadly airstrikes against Iranian and Iran-backed targets in Syria.