MESOP NEWS NEW BEST FRIENDS: Russia, Israel Agree to Oust Iran from Syria: Report

ERBIL 6-11-2021-  Russia and Israel have agreed to remove Iran and Tehran-backed militias from Syria, a report said on Thursday.

Reuters cited Israeli Construction and Housing Minister Zeev Elkin as saying that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett had agreed that Tel Aviv’s policy toward Syria, including airstrikes, would continue.

Elkin, who was said to have acted as a translator between Putin and Bennet, further pointed out that the meeting was “exceptionally warm.”

Meanwhile, an Israeli air force senior officer said that the two leaders agreed to oust Iran from Syria.

According to the Jerusalem Post, the recent rapprochement between Russia and Israel, represented in the meeting between Putin and Bennett and the understandings they reached, is because they “are seeking to remove Iran and its proxy Hezbollah from the country [Syria].”

Israel often carries out airstrikes against the pro-Iran militia groups in Syria and their facilities, continuing to work on the “difficult task of destroying Tehran’s dreams of regional hegemony and a forward base” against Israel.

Israel and Russia have been using a “deconfliction mechanism to avoid an unwanted conflict,” a source said in a statement.

Russia has agreed to allow Israel to maintain its freedom of operation over Syria as long as it does not endanger the Russian forces.