Israel’s national security adviser secretly traveled to Moscow on Monday, political sources in Tel Aviv said, where he met with Russian officials regarding the situation in Syria. Meir Ben-Shabbat met with his Russian counterpart Nikolai Patrushev and other Russian officials. They discussed Russian efforts to formulate a plan for southern Syria and Israel’s demand for Iranian forces to leave the country, sources said. Ben-Shabbat’s trip to Moscow came after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke by phone Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin about Syria and the security coordination between the two countries there. The Prime Minister’s office confirmed the meeting but would not comment on its content. Netanyahu said during Sunday’s weekly cabinet meeting that he reiterated the importance of booting Iran from Syria during his talks with Putin and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo over the weekend. “I made clear to them our principles on this matter,” he said. “Iran must leave Syria and we will act and are already acting against Iran’s attempts to establish itself in that country.” Israeli sources said Russia had asked Israel not to bomb Syria during the World Cup. They did not say, however, what the Israeli response was. When it was reported in Washington and the European capitals that Israel was bombed in the eastern region of Syria on Monday, Israel refrained from asserting the news or denying it. The shelling, which claimed the lives of 40 people, appeared to be the response, and that the Israeli official rushed to Moscow to explain that it was not intended to provoke Russia.