Israel pushes for Russia to keep Syria bases, wants Damascus 'weak, divided': Report

The Israeli regime is exerting pressure on the United States to ensure that Syria remains weak and divided, with Russia maintaining its military presence in the country, according to a recent report

Israelis are lobbying the US by various means in the aftermath of foreign-backed militants’ takeover of the Arab country, according to a report published by Reuters on Friday.

One way to stop Damascus from regaining its strength is to let Russia keep its military bases in the country, four sources familiar with the efforts were cited in the report as saying.

The report noted that the “lobbying points to a concerted Israeli campaign to influence US policy” in Syria.

It also noted that the presence of Russian forces in Syria would help counter Turkey’s growing influence in the Arab state.

Turkey plans to establish military bases in Syria: Report

Turkey has outlined a plan to set up bases for its armed forces in Syria, a report says.

Under the pretext of curbing Turkey's increasing clout in Syria, Israeli officials have sought to persuade the Americans that Russian forces should maintain their military presence in the Mediterranean by keeping the naval base in Tartus province and the air base in Latakia province, the sources said.

In a meeting between US officials and the Israelis, some of the American attendees were surprised after the Israeli side requested that the Russians continue to have a military presence in Syria, seeing this as a positive factor beneficial to them, two US sources familiar with the talks told Reuters.

Earlier this month, Syrian Defense Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra said his government is open to letting Russia keep its air and naval bases as long as any agreement with Moscow serves the country’s interests.

Israeli officials have claimed to their US counterparts that Syria's new rulers pose a threat to Israel's borders, the sources said.

Since 2011, the Israeli forces have been secretly arming and funding the anti-government groups that were fighting against the administration of Bashar al-Assad.

After the fall of Assad’s government in December, the Israeli regime occupied large swathes of Syrian territory.

However, Damascus has refrained from deploying what is left of the country's armed forces to fight against the Israelis' expansionist occupation of Syrian lands.

The commander of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) militant group, which overran Syria amid intense Israeli strikes against the Arab country last December and has been named as the country’s new “president,” stated his administration poses no military threat to the Israelis.

Militant commander Jolani appointed Syria’s ‘president’: Report

Militant commander is named Syria’s new “president” for a “transitional period.”

In the meantime, it is still unclear to what extent US President Donald Trump will consider adopting Tel Aviv's suggestions regarding Syria, the sources told Reuters.

However, Western political analysts have described the new Trump administration as “wildly pro-Israeli.”

Aron Lund, a fellow at US-based think-tank Century International, said the Israeli lobbying stands a good chance of succeeding in influencing the Trump administration’s decisions regarding Syria.

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