(Foundation for Defense of Democracies) Alexandra N. Gutowski - In late July, Russia deployed four military police battalions to monitor a pair of safe zones in Syria, including a southwestern zone negotiated with the U.S. The zone, roughly the size of Delaware, shares lengthy borders with both the Golan Heights and Jordan. Russian personnel will have exclusive responsibility for monitoring the zone from positions at its perimeter. Israel has publicly opposed the U.S.-Russian agreement, raising concerns regarding Russia's unwillingness to prevent Iran and Hizbullah from entering this zone. In conversations with American officials, Israel objected to Russia policing the zone. The writer is a research analyst at FDD.
2017-08-04 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive