MOSCOW (AA) - Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister Faina Kirschenbaum said Israel would not prevent the deployment of the Russian peacekeeping mission on the Golan Heights.
In an official visit in Russia, Kirschenbaum said "Israel is not against Russians on the Golan Heights. We will not prevent the deployment of the Russian peacekeeping mission on the Golan Heights."
"We want all the forces that can take over the responsibility to come there. These may be the Russians, it doesn't matter which country is" Kirschenbaum said.
The idea of placing Russian peacekeepers on the Golan Heights was voiced by President Vladimir Putin on June 7, after it was announced that the Austrian contingent was withdrawing from the area as tension rose due to the internal crisis in Syria.
Internationally recognized as Syrian territory, the Golan Heights has been occupied and administered by Israel since 1967. It was captured during the 1967 Six-Day War, establishing the Purple Line.
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