Speaking about the Israeli-Russian relationship on Tuesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, "We are in close contact with Russia. I met four times over the last year with Putin in order to avoid any clashes that nobody wants between the IDF and the Russian army. So far, there has not been one and we hope there will not be one. The reality in the Middle East changes extremely fast and not always to our detriment. We need one thing and that is to be strong."