Israel says Putin invites Bennett to visit St. Petersburg

JERUSALEM - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday invited Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett for another visit in Russia, a day after their first official meeting was held in Sochi.

"The president invited the prime minister and his wife to visit the city of St. Petersburg," the Israeli prime minister's office said in a statement.

Putin called Bennett on Saturday ahead of Bennett's departure from the Black Sea resort city of Sochi, where the two met on Friday for a five-hour talk on Syria, Iran and bilateral cooperation.

"President Putin inquired about Prime Minister Bennett's well-being after the weekend in Sochi and thanked him for their good and in-depth meeting yesterday," the statement read.

Bennett thanked Putin for "the warm hospitality" and their "helpful" meeting, which according to Bennett, will "help strengthen the ties between the countries."

"The prime minister accepted the invitation and replied that he would be happy to pay a follow-up visit," the statement read.