Media: no agreement reached between Israel and Russia on deployment of Syrian troops near Israeli border
Israel and Russia have not reached agreement on the withdrawal of Iranian forces from the Syrian southwestern border with Israel, reports the newspaper Times of Israel with reference to Israeli officials.
Senior Israeli official also told Kaan TV Channel that Israel is negotiating this issue both with the Russians and the US and wants to achieve the removal of Iranian forces from all of Syria, not just the south.
Earlier, the Israeli media, in particular Channel 10, reported that Israel reached the consensus with Moscow on this issue.
The Permanent Representative of Russia to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, did not directly confirm whether the talks between Russian and Israel on this issue were successful.
"I heard this news, [from] the press and elsewhere, about an agreement reached on a certain disengagement in the southwest of Syria…. My understanding is that the agreement was reached. [As to] whether it has been implemented by now, as of now, I cannot answer. But I understand that the parties that were involved in reaching the agreement are satisfied with what they have reached, "he said in response to a question whether an agreement was reached with Israel and Iran on the withdrawal of Iranian units from areas in southwest Syria.
According to Nebenzia, even if the agreement is not implemented at this point, it will be done in the near future.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly said that Israel will not be satisfied with the departure of Iranians from the border zone, and will continue to seek the full withdrawal of their forces from the neighboring state. Increasingly relying on military force to solve this task, Israel is interested in mutual understanding with Russia, whose aviation and air defense have been present in Syria since 2015.