MOSCOW, January 23. /TASS/. Israel’s practice of spontaneous strikes on Syria must be brought to an end, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters on Wednesday.

"The practice of spontaneous strikes on the territory of a sovereign state, in this case Syria, must end," the diplomat said, commenting on Israel’s recent strikes on the Arab Republic.

"We believe that stirring up hostility in the region does not meet long-term national interests of any Middle East states, including Israel, of course," Zakharova stressed. "We should prevent turning Syria, which has suffered over the past years of the armed conflict, into an arena of settling geopolitical scores."

The diplomat called to think about possible consequences of sparking a new spiral of tension in the Middle East.

On January 20, Syria’s SANA news agency reported that Syrian air defenses had repelled an Israeli air strike in the country’s south. On the same day, Israel announced that it had intercepted a rocket fired at the Golan Heights.

The next day, Russia’s Defense Ministry stated that four Syrian troops were killed and another six were wounded in the strikes, and the Damascus airport was damaged. Syria’s air defenses destroyed more than 30 Israeli missiles and air bombs.

On January 13, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that Tel Aviv was ready to enhance attacks on Iranian facilities in Syria to prevent Tehran’s efforts to entrench militarily in Syria.