Israeli FM to visit Moscow for talks with Russian counterpart

Tel Aviv, Sep 6 (IANS) Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid will fly to Moscow for an official trip to meet his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, according to an official statement.The statement issued by the Foreign Ministry on Sunday said that Lapid, who is also Israel's alternate Prime Minister, will depart on Wednesday for the one-day visit to Russia and will "hold a working meeting" with Lavrov, Xinhua news agency reported.The statement however, did not without elaborate on which topics the talks will focus on.The announcement came two days after a Russian-made surface-to-air missile was launched from Syrian territory towards Israel's airspace. According to a statement issued by the Israeli army, the missile exploded over the Mediterranean Sea, offshore Tel Aviv.Russia and Israel have coordinated their moves in Syria to avoid clashes. Russian forces have fought alongside Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's army while the Israeli air force has carried out numerous airstrikes targeting Iranian sites and weapons convoys to Hezbollah, an Iran-backed Lebanese armed group and political party.
--IANS ksk/