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Russia's top envoy assures Syrian de-escalation zones pose no danger to Israel’s security

Lavrov also added that any agreement should support Israel’s security interests, as well as the security interests of all other states in the region

MOSCOW, August 1. /TASS/. De-escalation zones established in Syria do not violate Israel’s interest and do not threaten its security, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Friday, speaking to the students and teachers of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO).

"I wouldn’t say that this decision was some kind of a step towards ignoring Israel’s security interests," he said.

"When this decision was being prepared, Israeli partners, along with trilateral Russian-American-Jordanian contacts, were informed about the direction in which this work was advancing. In all our Middle East discussions we always proceed from the fact that any agreement should support Israel’s security interests, as well as the security interests of all other countries, of course."

Lavrov stressed that Israel’s concerns are groundless.

"We assured our Israeli counterparts that concerns about possible damage to their security, if they have any, are actually groundless, as we are strongly committed to stop it from happening ," the minister noted.