Russian envoy claims Iran will pull back forces 85 kilometers from Israeli-Syrian border

Russia has reportedly reached an agreement with Iran to withdraw its forces 85 kilometers from Israel’s border.

By: World Israel News Staff   

Russia has reached an agreement with Iran according to which Iranian forces with pull back 85 kilometers from the Israeli border with Syria, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s envoy to Syria said in a Sputnik news interview published Wednesday.

“Of course, we take into account the interests of neighboring states, interests of Israel, our president spoke about that,” Alexander Lavrentyev told Sputnik.

“As we took into account the Israeli concerns, we managed to attain the pullout of Iranian units 85 kilometers [some 53 miles] from the Israeli border,” the presidential envoy added.

According to the Sputnik report, Lavrentyev said that Russia believes Israeli concerns over the presence of pro-Iranian forces near its border with Syria are decreasing.

“Yes, of course, we are certain of this,” Lavrentyev said, in response to a question from Sputnik.

Lavrentyev’s comments contradicted Israel’s stated policy of opposing any Iranian presence in Syria whatsoever, as articulated by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on numerous occasions.