WASHINGTON – The Kremlin on Wednesday denied reports that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently presented Russian President Vladimir Putin with a plan, also given to US President Donald Trump, to remove Iranian troops from Syria.
“I cannot confirm this information,” Tass quoted Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying on Wednesday. “In this case, details must be apparently clarified to establish what plan we are talking about here and what Netanyahu meant when he spoke about it.”
A senior Israeli diplomatic official said following Netanyahu’s meeting with Trump on Monday in the White House that Netanyahu presented Trump with a plan to remove the Iranians from Syria, and that he is also trying to enlist Putin’s support for that plan.
The official said that Trump and Netanyahu discussed Syria at length during the meeting, and about the continuation of harsh sanctions against Tehran.
A month ago, on February 27, Netanyahu met Putin in the Kremlin for a meeting devoted primarily to the situation in Syria.
“The greatest threat to stability and security in the region comes from Iran and its proxies,” Netanyahu said before that meeting. “We are determined to continue with our aggressive action against the efforts of Iran – which calls for our destruction – and against its attempt to entrench militarily in Syria.”