According to reports in the British Press outlet Ashar al-Awsat, the Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told Israel that Moscow has agreed to expand a buffer zone along the Israeli-Syrian border. This buffer zone will be a no-go for Hezbollah and Iranian forces operating in Syria.

The agreement came following a meeting held between Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman with high-level officers of the Russian military that included Shoigu. According to the report, the KRemlin has agreed to expand the buffer zone around Israel’s northern border from 5 kilometers to 15.

High-level Jerusalem officials told the British paper that the Israeli request was to expand the no-go zone to 40 kilometers of Syrian territory. Such a distance is more than halfway to Damascus.

Following the meeting, Shoigu said that the Israeli request was unrealistic and exaggerated. Shoigu went on t say that the Iranian forces and their collaborators have not made any attempts to get close to Israel since Russia has been involved in the conflict. However, not wanting to upset the Israelis, the KRemlin allowed for an increase up to the new 15-kilometer protective ring around Israel’s northern border.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)