Russia offered Israel and the United States a deal involving Iran's withdrawal of its forces from Syria in exchange for an ease in US sanctions, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a closed session of the Knesset, according to an official at the Israeli council.
The official indicated that the offer is still initial and unclear, but is a matter of interest for both Tel Aviv and Washington.
Channel 10 news reported on Tuesday that Netanyahu divulged the Russian offer during a closed session of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Monday.
He told the committee that Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested a deal to Israel and the US that would see Iran remove its forces from Syria in exchange for an easing of Washington’s sanctions against Tehran. The channel spoke to three members of the committee who attended the meeting and confirmed the information.
Based on the report, Israel is yet to determine its position on the Russian proposal, and it did not refer to the US position.
It seems that one of the attendees had asked Netanyahu about the recent diplomatic crisis with Russia, and whether Putin indeed refuses to discuss with the PM.
Netanyahu spoke optimistically of his recent meetings with the Russian president and told the committee that Putin’s proposal was only a preliminary idea.
Russia blames Israel for the downing of the plane in Syria last September and killing 15 Russian servicemen. However, Netanyahu believes the suggestion is a step towards ending the crisis between the two countries because Russia needs to cooperate with other states to find a solution for the Iranian presence in Syria.
The PM confirmed that US, Russia and Israel are highly cooperating regarding the situation in Russia, according to the three members.
Earlier this month, US Special Representative for Syrian Engagement James Jeffrey visited Moscow and Tel Aviv where he held talks with top officials as well as Netanyahu and discussed ending Iranian presence in Syria.
The Russian embassy in Israel refused to comment according to Channel 10, though a senior US State Department official commented that talks were ongoing “with the UN and other parties promote a political solution in Syria. We do not detail the content of these diplomatic talks.”
Meanwhile, Israel Hayom newspaper reported that Jeffery told some political reporters Tuesday night that Iranian forces are in Syria not just to support the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad, but to carry out their own long-term regional hegemonial program.
The Envoy then noted that in some respects, they want to subvert the Syrian authority just like they have done in Lebanon and Yemen, and just like they attempted to do in Iraq.
The newspaper indicated that Jeffrey's remarks are consistent with growing reports of extensive Iranian efforts to turn Syria from largely Sunni Muslim into a Shiite-majority country.
“Last week, Iran announced it was opening another university in Syria, which was set to join the list of schools it already operates in the country,” according to the newspaper.
Jeffrey said that many in the international community believe the war in Syria has come to an end, however, a flare-up is possible any minute.
He explained that the areas to most cause concerns regarding the Syrian matter are that of Israel-Iran followed by Jordan and Iran.
"For the moment, Jordan's major concern, as Jordanian officials talk to us, is both Iran's movement into regions close to Jordan and of course the remnants of terrorist forces along the Jordanian border. Jordan has suffered terribly from terrorist attacks and we are committed to its security," he told the reporters.
