They touched upon the prospects of the UN expanding its conflict prevention and peacemaking work and exchanged views on the conflict in Syria. Lavrov informed Guterres of contact between the human rights commissioners of Russia and Ukraine.

The telephone call came 2 days after the Russian army announced they had deployed an observation post near the military zone in the Golan Heights, which was occupied by Israel in 1967. Colonel Viktor Zaitsev, commander of Russian military forces in Syria, said the move aims to reassure Israel as Hezbollah soldiers in Lebanon and Iranian forces are getting too close to the Golan Heights.