JERUSALEM, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will travel to Moscow on Thursday to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin, Netanyahu's office said in a statement on Tuesday.

The office did not elaborate on which issues the two leaders will be discussing in their meeting.

On Monday, the Israeli Prime Minister's Office said Netanyahu and Putin spoke by telephone over "regional issues." According to local media reports, the discussion included Syria.

The meeting will be held five days before Israel's April 9 election, in which Netanyahu is seeking to be re-elected for a fifth term.

Shifting from a long-held U.S. foreign policy, President Donald Trump announced last Thursday that he recognizes Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights, a territory Israel captured from Syria in a war in 1967 and later annexed.

The move triggered international condemnations.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is fighting against rebel groups in Syria's eight-year civil war, with Russian support.