Follow-Up: "Israel lobbies US to keep Russian bases in a 'weak' Syria, sources say"

From the outro of a February 27 post: The Russians want a Mediterranean naval base to replace the one they lost/will lose in Syria; I'm not sure what Turkey wants beyond Sultan Erdoğan's generalized dream of bringing back the Caliphate....

And from Reuters, February 28:

• Israel lobbies US to keep Syria weak, decentralised, sources say
• Israel supports Russia's military presence in Syria, sources say
• Israel concerned about Turkey's influence in Syria

Israel is lobbying the United States to keep Syria weak and decentralised, including by letting Russia keep its military bases there to counter Turkey's growing influence in the country, four sources familiar with the efforts said.

 

Turkey's often fraught ties with Israel have come under severe strain during the Gaza war and Israeli officials have told Washington that Syria's new Islamist rulers, who are backed by Ankara, pose a threat to Israel's borders, the sources said.

 

The lobbying points to a concerted Israeli campaign to influence U.S. policy at a critical juncture for Syria, as the Islamists who ousted Bashar al-Assad try to stabilise the fractured state and get Washington to lift punishing sanctions.

 

Israel communicated its views to top U.S. officials during meetings in Washington in February and subsequent meetings in Israel with U.S. Congressional representatives, three U.S. sources and another person familiar with the contacts said.

 

The main points were also circulated to some senior U.S. officials in an Israeli "white paper", two of the sources said.

 

All the sources spoke on condition of anonymity due to diplomatic sensitivities.

"Israel's big fear is that Turkey comes in and protects this new Syrian Islamist order, which then ends up being a base for Hamas and other militants," said Aron Lund, a fellow at U.S.-based think-tank Century International.

 

The U.S. State Department and National Security Council did not provide a response to questions for this story. The office of Israel's prime minister and the foreign ministries in Syria and Turkey did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

 

It was not clear to what extent U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is considering adopting Israel's proposals, the sources said. It has said little about Syria, leaving uncertainty over both the future of the sanctions and whether U.S. forces deployed in the northeast will remain....

....MUCH MORE

Although that Feb. 27 post was about Iran's moves in Algeria it provided a hook upon which to hang the outro.

There's a lot of stuff going on, as the old-time traders used to say: "Pay attention or pay the offer."