In a dramatic diplomatic development, a senior Israeli official on Monday revealed that Israel and Russia recently reached understandings on the matter of Israel's northern border with Syria, where Russia has been involved in a yearslong civil war.
According to the understandings, only Syrian President Bashar Assad's army – not Iran nor its Shiite militias, including Hezbollah – will take up positions near the border with Israel.
The official said that under the agreement, not only will Russia enforce its commitment to keep Iran's militias and Hezbollah forces from the border, it will publicly call on all foreign elements to leave Syrian soil – among them the United States and Turkey.
According to the report, disagreements emerged between Israel and Russia over the Israeli Air Force's freedom to act against Iranian efforts to establish a foothold in Syria.
"Assad was and remains a monster who massacred his own people," the senior official was quoted as saying. "But this is a matter for the international community and Arab countries. We cannot fix the world, Israel needs to worry about its own security."
The Prime Minister's Office said in a statement, however, that "Israel is not interested in partial agreements. It wants the withdrawal of the Iranian military from all of Syria."
Echoing the same sentiment, Intelligence Services Ministry Director General Chagai Tzuriel noted that "when you consider the advanced weapon systems – surface-to-surface missiles and anti-aircraft systems – that the Iranians want to deploy in Syria, it becomes clear that they must be prevented from doing so in all of Syria, not only within a limited distance from the Israeli border."
Meanwhile, in addition to Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman traveling to Moscow on Thursday to meet with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, National Security Adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat will travel to Washington this week to meet with his American counterpart, John Bolton. It will be the first official work meeting between the two.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is also expected to embark on a series of diplomatic forays, visiting Berlin, Paris and London in the coming weeks where he will meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Theresa May respectively.
"I will discuss blocking Iran's nuclear ambitions with them and also blocking Iran's expansion in the Middle East," Netanyahu said Monday ahead of a Likud faction meeting. "I will present our position in the clearest manner. Of course I'll present the things that are vital to Israel's security. We believe that there is no place for any Iranian military presence anywhere in Syria."
For their part, Russian officials said Monday that only Syrian army troops should be on the country's southern border with Jordan and Israel, after Washington warned of "firm measures" in response to truce violations in the region.
"Of course, the withdrawal of all non-Syrian forces must be carried out on a mutual basis, this should be a two-way street," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told a news conference.
"The result of the ongoing work should be a situation in which troops of the Syrian Armed Forces will be stationed alongside the Syrian border with Israel," he said.
Rebels control stretches of southwest Syria, bordering the Israeli Golan Heights, while Syrian army troops and allied Iran-backed militias hold nearby territory.
The United States has voiced concern about reports of an impending Syrian army offensive in a "de-escalation zone" in the southwest, warning Damascus it would respond to breaches.
Jordanian officials said Monday Jordan was discussing south Syria with Washington and Moscow, and all three agreed on the need to preserve the cease-fire, which reduced violence since they brokered it last year.
Syrian state media has reported leaflet drops on rebel territory there urging fighters to accept government rule, and a U.K.-based monitor has reported army movements into the south – two signs of a potential military offensive.
But the senior Jordanian official, who requested anonymity, told Reuters that Russia, Washington and Jordan all still saw "eye to eye" on the need to preserve the cease-fire.
"The de-escalation zone has produced the cease-fire that has held best in all of Syria. The parties to the agreement are all committed to preserving it," the official said. "We are closely watching developments and will protect our national security," the official added of the "fluid" situation.
Syria's state-run Al-Baath daily said in an editorial published Monday that the U.S. threat underscores the "dirty American role in the terrorist war" against Syria. It stressed that the Syrian army was determined to retake all parts of Syria.
The Lebanon-based Al Mayadeen TV, which has reporters embedded with Syrian troops, said the army is sending reinforcements to southern Syria in an apparent preparation for an offensive.
