What the US and Israel can expect from next week’s meeting with Russia

Excerpt

For Israel, this summit affords an opportunity to begin an earnest conversation on several key topics. The first is a political arrangement in Syria that includes the removal of all foreign forces. Israel seeks a return to the pre-2011 status quo. Foremost on Israel’s agenda is the removal of Iranian forces, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) from Syria, along with Iranian-backed Shiite militias. Less urgent, but no less challenging, is the continued Russian presence and role in the region. Neither goal will be easy to achieve.

Brigadier General (Res.) Professor Jacob Nagel is a visiting professor at the Technion and a visiting fellow at Foundation for Defense of Democracies (@FDD). He previously served as the head of Israel’s National Security Council and as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s National Security Advisor (acting). Jonathan Schanzer, a former terrorism finance analyst at the United States Department of the Treasury, is senior vice president at FDD.