Sputnik - Israel, Russia and the United States held several rounds of secret talks to discuss the ceasefire in southern Syria and creation of de-escalation zones on the country's borders with Israel and Jordan, the Haaretz newspaper reported Wednesday, citing Israeli and European politicians.




MOSCOW (Sputnik)�� According to�the news outlet, the meetings were held in�the Jordanian capital of�Amman and one of�the European capitals before�the Russia-US agreement on�Syrian ceasefire was announced on�July 7. The Israeli side reportedly objected to�the deal due to�the fact the Moscow and Washington did not focus their attention on�the withdrawal of�Iranian forces from�Syria.

The unnamed sources told the newspaper that the talks engaged leading diplomats, defense and security officials from�the three countries. The Israeli side reportedly included representatives from�the country's Foreign Ministry, the Defense Ministry and intelligence community. The US team was comprised of�US Special Envoy for�Syria Michael Ratney, Special Presidential Envoy for�the Global Coalition to�Counter ISIS (Daesh, a terrorist� group banned in�Russia) Brett McGurk. The Russian delegation was represented by�Special Presidential Envoy for�Syria Alexander Lavrentyev, the newspaper said.

Amman reportedly hosted two meetings on�one day: the first was between�Israel, Russia and the United States, and the second was between�Israel, Jordan and the United States.
Several days later another meeting was held in�an undisclosed European city. The main dispute was over�the fact that the ceasefire was considered by�Russia and the United States to�be a tool for�stabilizing the situation and enhancing the fight against�Daesh.Israel, on�the other hand, stressed the need to�discuss Iranian presence on�Syrian territory, specifically the withdrawal of�Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), Lebanon�s Hezbollah movement and Shiite militias, according to�the newspaper.


The memorandum on�the establishment of�de-escalation zone in�the Daraa, Quneitra and As-Suwayda provinces in�southwestern Syria, agreed upon�by Russia, Jordan and the United States, took effect on�July 9. Since then, Russian military police have set up�new checkpoints and observation posts throughout�the safe zone to�ensure that hostilities do not resume.

Syria has been in�the state of�civil war for�six years, with�government forces fighting against�both Syrian opposition groups who strive to�overthrow President Bashar Assad, and numerous extremist and terrorist groups such as�Daesh.