Russian Military Patrols Syria's Golan Heights

Russian military units patrolling Golan Heights (Russia Today)
Russian military units patrolling Golan Heights (Russia Today)
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Russian Military Patrols Syria's Golan Heights

Russian military units patrolling Golan Heights (Russia Today)
Russian military units patrolling Golan Heights (Russia Today)

Russia media published a video of Russian military units patrolling the Syrian side of the Golan Heights, occupied by Israel since 1967.

The video showed soldiers and vehicles separating the Syrian and Israeli armies and observation points on hills and high areas in the region. Some of the soldiers were seen wearing combat fatigue bearing the letter "Z," the symbol of the military campaign in Ukraine.

Last January, Russian military planes carried out a patrol with the Syrian Air Force in the Golan, along with Israel, which continues to bomb Iranian sites around Syria.

The Russian Ministry of Defense announced that the fighters were launched from the Russian Hmeimim base and al-Dumayr Airport.

The statement said the Russian and Syrian military pilots had conducted a joint air patrol mission along the Golan Heights and the Euphrates River.

"The mission's route ran along the Golan Heights, the southern border, the Euphrates River and over northern Syria," the statement read.

"Russian pilots took off from the Hmeymim Air Base, while Syrians took off from the Seikal and Dumayr airfields outside Damascus," the ministry added.

The mission involved Russia's Su-34 and Su-35 aircraft and the A-50 early warning and control aircraft, as well as Syria's MiG-23 and MiG-29 planes.

At the end of 2020, it was reported that Russian forces would conduct their first patrol along the Syrian border with Israel.

Sources said the Russian vehicles moved towards the military base, the Russian observation center in the Quneitra region.

The redeployment implemented Moscow's decision to revive the UN Disengagement Forces (UNDOF) in the Golan.

According to a Russian official, Moscow is assisting the Syrian army in joint exercises in the Golan region, noting that the goal of the Russian presence is to monitor the ceasefire in the demilitarized zone on the border with Israel.

In August 2018, international forces agreed on a de-escalation zone in southern Syria.

Israeli and international media said that the Iranian forces had withdrawn their heavy weapons in Syria to 85 km from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

"The Iranians withdrew, and the Shiite formations are not there," TASS news agency quoted Russian presidential special envoy to Syria Alexander Lavrentiev, as saying.

The redeployment came in implementation of the agreement concluded between former US President Donald Trump and Russian Vladimir Putin during their meeting in Helsinki in mid-July 2018.

Both presidents asserted that the US and Russia would work together to ensure Israel's security.

"We both spoke with Bibi (the then-Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu), and they would like to do certain things with Syria having to do with the safety of Israel," Trump said, adding that "creating safety for Israel is something both Putin and I would like to see very much."



Türkiye Backs Sharaa’s Stability Efforts, Erdogan Says amid Syrian Violence

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks at the Malaysia-Türkiye Business Forum during his working visit to Malaysia, in Putrajaya, Malaysia, February 11, 2025. (Reuters)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks at the Malaysia-Türkiye Business Forum during his working visit to Malaysia, in Putrajaya, Malaysia, February 11, 2025. (Reuters)
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Türkiye Backs Sharaa’s Stability Efforts, Erdogan Says amid Syrian Violence

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks at the Malaysia-Türkiye Business Forum during his working visit to Malaysia, in Putrajaya, Malaysia, February 11, 2025. (Reuters)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks at the Malaysia-Türkiye Business Forum during his working visit to Malaysia, in Putrajaya, Malaysia, February 11, 2025. (Reuters)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that Türkiye was advising Syrian authorities to help ease tensions and welcomed interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa's commitment to punishing those who acted outside the law.

"Sharaa is pursuing an inclusive policy without falling into the trap of revanchism. Continuing this approach will thwart the games being played against Syria," Erdogan said after a cabinet meeting in Ankara.

Erdogan's political opponents have urged him to use his influence over Syrian leaders to curb the violence that erupted in the neighboring country in recent days.

The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) called for an international peacekeeping force to maintain security in western Syria, just south of Türkiye, if the government could not ensure civilian safety there.

Clashes between loyalists of deposed President Bashar al-Assad and the country's new rulers have killed scores of people in Assad's coastal heartland in recent days, according to a war monitoring group.

Türkiye, the strongest foreign backer of Sharaa, has condemned the violence and reiterated its support for the interim president.

The instability could damage Ankara's hopes of ending a decades-old conflict with Kurdish militants, some based in Syria, and possibly slow a flow of Syrians returning home from Türkiye in recent months after 13 years of war in Syria.

"Türkiye must take initiatives with the Damascus administration and make the necessary efforts to prevent such incidents from happening," Ali Mahir Basarir, a senior CHP lawmaker, said during a visit to the border province of Hatay.

"The escalation of clashes represents a major risk for Türkiye," he added.

Visiting Jordan at the weekend, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Türkiye was determined to assist the Syrian government in every way and support stabilization efforts.

Sharaa has vowed to catch those responsible for the killings, and Syria's defense ministry announced on Monday the completion of military operations against the remnants of Assad's forces.

Relative calm followed Assad's ousting in December. Syrian security sources said over the weekend more than 300 of their members had been killed in clashes with former army personnel owing allegiance to Assad in coordinated attacks and ambushes on their forces that began on Thursday.

Türkiye has backed anti-Assad Syrian forces for years and maintains bases in Syria's north. Its defense ministry said there was no surge in deployments late last week, after sources in Syria said more armored vehicles had crossed the border.

"We see that certain sectarian and ethnic provocations are being used by certain groups through proxy forces," Omer Celik, the spokesman for Erdogan's ruling AK Party, said on Sunday.