Putin sent Alexander Lavrentiev to align Assad along the Kremlin lines. In the Israeli context, Lavrentiev made it clear to Assad that he would not respond to Israeli actions and that Russia would handle this with Jerusalem. He also warned Iranians against reacting to US targets in Syria.
Alexander Lavrentiev, President Putin's special envoy on the Syrian issue, headed by a delegation in Damascus, visited and met with President Bashar al-Assad and his men. The Russian delegation included Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev, head of the Russian Committee for the Return of Refugees to Syria, as well as representatives from various government ministries as well as Deputy Head of the Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament.
During the meeting with President Bashar al-Assad, the ways to stabilize the internal situation in Syria, to advance efforts to achieve national reconciliation and to create conditions that would allow the return of millions of refugees who fled Syria and were displaced from their homes inside Syria during the civil war were discussed at length.
The Russian envoy's extraordinary response to the activities of the Israeli Air Force in Syria must be emphasized. Lebrentiev reiterated Russia's opposition to the continued Israeli bombing of Syria, and that its sovereignty should be respected, but stressed that "at the present time" Moscow opposes "forceful measures" against Israel's activities, as these may have the opposite results.
He further noted that Russia has no interest in a new military confrontation in Syria. Instead, he called on Brantiev to maintain diplomatic contacts with Israel "at all levels" and noted that Moscow would continue talks with Israel to bring about a complete cessation of Israeli attacks.
It also seems that at the present time, when Turkey is threatening a new offensive against the Kurds in northern Syria, the Russians have no interest in a direct confrontation between Syria and Israel, especially in light of the Syrian army's weakness.
In addition, against the background of tensions with Western countries due to the concentrations of the Russian army along the borders of Ukraine, Moscow has no interest in another confrontation with the US, due to a new military flare-up on the Syrian border with Israel.
Lebrentiev also expressed Russia's satisfaction with the recent significant change in the Arab position towards Damascus, and even said in an interview with the Iranian agency Tasnim during his visit that "Russia welcomes the change in the position of Arab states towards Damascus, and that Syria's return to the Arab League will have a positive effect on Syria "And for the entire Middle East region."