MOSCOW - Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed the situation in the Middle East and the fight against terrorism, the Kremlin press service said Friday.

In a telephone talk, "Putin and Netanyahu continued exchange of opinions on the current situation in the Middle East. They confirmed their readiness for further active cooperation in the fight against terrorism," it said.

The conversation, held on the Israeli initiative, was the second this week.

On Wednesday, Netanyahu offered condolences over the assassination of Russia's Ambassador to Turkey Andrei Karlov and said Israel was ready to boost anti-terrorism cooperation with Russia.