JERUSALEM. March 5 (Interfax) - Israel is dissatisfied with the operation of the southern de-escalation area in Syria and believes that Shia groups should be withdrawn from that territory, the Israeli Foreign Ministry's Deputy General Director and Eurasian Department Director, Alexander Ben-Zvi, told the Russian media in an interview in response to Interfax's question.
"We are totally dissatisfied with that, because the agreement requires withdrawal of all Shia groups from the area but that has not been done. Hence, we have contacted Russia and other countries to get it done," Ben-Zvi said.
"We are cooperating very closely, and stay in contact with Russia in connection with this issue. As I have already said, we also stay in contact with the Americans and the Jordanians. Naturally, Russia has the biggest presence in Syria. This is why our contacts with Russia on this matter are more frequent and intensive," he said.