Syria/Iraq update 5/31/2018..Assad says 'Russia-US direct conflict in Syria was close, but avoided'

‘Russia-US direct conflict in Syria was close, but avoided’ – Assad

Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad says the United States “is losing its cards” as the militant groups it supports have lost significant ground on the battlefield against the army, emphasizing that the Americans “should leave” Syrian soil. In an interview with Russia’s RT television network on Thursday, Assad said that following the liberation of the cities of Aleppo, Dayr la-Zawr, Homs, and Damascus, the US is actually “losing its cards.”

Russia: Shoigu, Israeli DefMin Lieberman discuss Syria-Jordan border

Hezbollah And Iranian Forces Are Preparing To Withdraw From Southern Syria 

Iranian forces and Lebanese Hezbollah are preparing to withdraw from the southern Syrian governorates of al-Quneitra and Daraa, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported on May 30.

The SOHR added that Russia, Jordan and the US are now negotiating a deal that could prevent a military confrontation in southern Syria. The deal will force the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and radical groups to hand over their medium and heavy weapons to the SAA and to withdraw from the Syrian-Jordanian border and the contact line with Israel.

Earlier today, Israeli Minister of Defense Avigdor Lieberman met with his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu in Moscow to discuss Iranian military presence in Syria. Israeli media suggested that the two sides discussed an agreement, under which Iranian forces and Hezbollah will be forced to withdraw more than 60km away from the Golan Heights.

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on May 30 that all non-Syrian forces must withdraw from the de-escalation zone in southern Syria, Which confirms that such a deal is in the making.

Officials from Jordan, Russia and the US are expected to hold a meeting in Amman soon to discuss the future of southern Syria. Local observers believe that this meeting may also push the political process in the war torn country.

Locals From Eastern Ghouta Join Syrian Army

‘U.S. OUT’

Will disputed vote derail hopes of new start for Iraq?