Russia asked Israel, on Wednesday, to refrain from carrying out air strikes near its military base in Syria, as happened previously last October.

The official Syrian news agency, SANA, reported on October 17 that Israel carried out a raid at the entrance to the city of Latakia, and the Syrian Observatory said it targeted a weapons depot.

The Russian Hmeimim air base is located close to Latakia.

The Russian President’s envoy to the Middle East, Alexander Lavrentiev, said on Wednesday to the Russian RIA Novosti news agency: “Israel carried out an air strike very close to the Hmeimim base.”

He added, "Our soldiers informed the Israeli officials that such operations would endanger the lives of the Russian soldiers present there, and this is unacceptable."

He continued: “Therefore, we hope that this event that occurred in October will not be repeated,” noting that the Russian base “is not used for Hezbollah supplies.”

Since the outbreak of the war in Syria in 2011, the Israeli army has launched hundreds of strikes in this country, mainly targeting sites of the Syrian army and Iranian-backed fighters, including sites of the Lebanese Hezbollah. Israel has intensified its strikes since the outbreak of the war between it and Hezbollah in Lebanon. .

Syrian media reported, on Wednesday, that Israel attacked the Qusayr area in the southern countryside of Homs in central Syria.

The sources explained that Syrian air defenses intercepted enemy targets over the western countryside of Homs.