All news

Disengagement of forces in southwest Syria to take place shortly, says ambassador

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said earlier only Syrian troops should remain at the Syrian-Israeli border
Russia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya AP Photo/Julie Jacobson
Russia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya
© AP Photo/Julie Jacobson

UNITED NATIONS, June 2. /TASS/. An agreement on disengagement of forces in southwestern Syria has been reached and it will be translated into life shortly, the Russian Ambassador to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya said on Friday as he commented on reports an agreement, which concerned a pullout of Iranian forces from Syria’s southern regions.

"I heard these news that were in the press and elsewhere about an agreement reached on certain disengagement in the South-West of Syria and I think my understanding is that the agreement was reached, whether it has been implemented as of now I can not answer, but I understand that the parties that were involved in reaching the agreement are satisfied with what they reached," he said. "If it has not been done by now it will be done in the near future."

On May 31, Israeli ambassador in Moscow Gary Koren told TASS the Israeli government was satisfied with Russia’s position on the Iranian military presence on the Syrian-Israeli border. He said Israel and Russia were holding intense discussions regarding Iranian military presence in Syria, which he believes is spearheaded at Israel.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said earlier only Syrian troops should remain at the Syrian-Israeli border. He also recalled that the agreements reached in 2017 envisioned a pullout of all the foreign troops from that zone of de-escalation.

In the meantime, Bashar al-Assad told RT channel earlier this week there had never been any "Iranian troops" on the Syrian territory.