Netanyahu, Putin to discuss Iran presence in Syria

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin will discuss the presence of Iranian troops in Syria on Wednesday, Haaretz newspaper reported yesterday.

The paper pointed out that reports from Syria show that Russia did not fully abide by its commitments to both Israel and Jordan that militias loyal to Iran and the Lebanese Hezbollah will not participate in the fighting in Daraa, southern Syria.

According to the paper, members of Hezbollah and Iranian militias have participated in combat operations wearing Syrian army uniforms, while the overall deployment of regular forces in Daraa was carried out without the Iranian militias or Hezbollah forces.

The newspaper said that it is believed that Israel gave the Syrian regime forces the green light to enter southern Syria following negotiations with Russia which promised that Iranian forces will be kept away from the area and to no closer than 40 kilometres from the border with Jordan.

The Syrian regime launched a large-scale military operation in June against the southern opposition-held province of Daraa.

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