In a brief statement after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Putin said their talks had covered the situation in Iran and the bloody uprising in Syria. But he added that he saw negotiations as the only solution for such matters.
Netanyahu countered with far more detail.
"We agree that nuclear weapons in the hands of Iran pose a grave danger, first for Israel but also for the region and the whole world," he said. "Two things need to be done now: We need to bolster the sanctions and bolster the demands."
Netanyahu insisted that all uranium enrichment in Iran must cease and that the Iranian underground nuclear facility near Qom be dismantled. He added that "the killing and horrible suffering of the Syrian people" must be stopped.
Israel sees Iran as its most dangerous enemy because it is convinced the country's nuclear program is meant to build bombs - not for peaceful purposes such as energy production, as Iran insists. The fears are compounded by Iran's frequent calls for Israel's destruction, support for anti-Israel militants, and arsenal of ballistic missiles.
Israel has said repeatedly that it will not tolerate a nuclear Iran. While saying it prefers a diplomatic solution, Israel has also hinted of using a military strike as a last resort.
Iran is under four sets of United Nations Security Council sanctions because of its nuclear program. Israel has welcomed these but warned they are not enough. Efforts aimed at tougher U.N. sanctions have been opposed in the Security Council by Russia and China, both permanent veto-wielding members that have extensive financial interests in Iran.
Russia, for instance, has built a $1 billion nuclear reactor in Bushehr. But Moscow, bowing to U.S. and Israeli demands, has also scrapped a deal to sell Iran long-range missiles that could provide a powerful deterrent against a potential air attack.
Another Israeli concern is Syria. Russia has continued its arms sales to Damascus throughout the violent uprising against President Bashar al-Assad. Israel is afraid Russian weapons in Syria will fall into the hands of allied Hezbollah militants in neighboring Lebanon.
Putin began his official visit at a ceremony to inaugurate a Soviet Red Army memorial in the coastal city of Netanya, paying tribute to fallen soldiers of World War II, including tens of thousands of Jews.
"The memory of the fallen is sacred in my eyes. I am moved that you feel the same thing in Israel," he said, facing the sculpture of a massive pair of wings on a windswept hilltop overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.
Israeli President Shimon Peres linked the past to the challenges of the present.
"I am confident that Russia, which defeated fascism, will not allow similar threats today. Not the Iranian threat. And not the bloodshed in Syria," he said at the ceremony.
At a state dinner later Monday, Peres pressed Putin further.
"I ask of you again: Raise your voice against a nuclear Iran, against destroying a people. You know well the depth of sensitivity of the Jewish people when we are threatened with destruction," he said.
Putin responded that Russia has a "national interest" to secure peace and quiet in Israel, but did not elaborate further.
