Baladi - Newspapers
The U.S. has reportedly considered abandoning one of its most significant military installations in Syria as it prepared to enter into talks with Russia and Jordan over a deteriorating security situation in the war-torn country's restive south.
The report, which first surfaced Sunday in Saudi Arabian newspaper Asharq AL-awsat, came as Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said Tuesday that Moscow "supported the idea of holding a trilateral meeting at a level convenient for our partners," according to the state-run agency RIA.
The U.S. and its Middle Eastern ally Jordan are opponents of Bashar al-Assad, whose forces, backed by Russia and Iran, are planning a new offensive against rebels and jihadis across southern Syria.
The Saudi publication reported that, in order to prevent an escalation between longtime foes Iran and Israel, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State David Satterfield was attempting to draw up a proposal for the trilateral meeting that would include the withdrawal of all Syrian and non-Syrian militias up to 15-and-a-half miles from the Jordanian border. Insurgents would also be transferred to the rebel-held province of Idlib and the Syria-Jordan border crossing would be opened.
Russia has long accused the U.S. of using the Al-Tanf base to shield the remnants of jihadi groups such as the Islamic State militant group (ISIS), against which both the U.S. and Russia are supporting their respective local Syrian partners to fight. The U.S. has routinely denied the charges and has criticized Russia for backing Assad, who the West and its allies have accused of war crimes and have attempted to help overthrow by backing a 2011 uprising against his rule.
In exchange, the U.S. would reportedly dismantle its military base in Al-Tanf, located in a pocket of Syrian rebel control near the Jordanian and Iraqi borders.
Source: NewsWeek