US, Russia, Jordan to discuss future of Syria’s ‘de-escalation’ zone

Amid increasing tensions, the US, Russia and Jordan will meet to to discuss the future of Syria’s southern “de-escalation” zone adjacent to Israel’s northern border.

By: World Israel News Staff

The US, Russia and Jordan will convene to discuss the future of Syria’s southern “de-escalation” zone, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said on Tuesday, Reuters reported, citing the state-operated RIA news agency.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov implicitly stated Monday that Iranian forces should be kept far from Israel’s borders.

Though he did not mention Iran specifically, Lavrov said that only the Syrian regime should field military forces in the country’s southern border, which it shares with Israel and Jordan.

Lavrov told reporters in Moscow that “the agreement on forming a de-escalation area in southwestern Syria envisaged the eventual withdrawal of all non-Syrian forces from this part of Syria.”

He added that the Russian and US militaries have maintained regular contacts on the issue.

“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.

He made his statement after Washington warned of “firm measures” over Syria’s truce violations in the region.

The US, Russia and Jordan agreed last year to establish a “de-escalation zone” in parts of Syria and freeze the lines of conflict there.

Jordan said on Monday that all three parties agreed on the need to preserve the de-escalation zone.

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