TEL AVIV (Sputnik) — On Wednesday, Rivlin arrived in Moscow for a two-day visit. According to the Israeli newspaper, Syrian reconciliation was one of the central issues discussed at the meeting between the presidents.
"Rivlin told Putin that bringing back the (UNDOF) inspectors could be an opening toward restoring the situation on the Golan Heights border to what it had been before the Syrian civil war, which was much better than it is now," the source said, as quoted by the media outlet.
The Golan Heights is a disputed territory that was a part of Syria before Israel seized the area in 1967 during the Six-Day War.
The Golan Heights is internationally recognized as part of Syria and the United Nations has repeatedly stated that Israel’s occupation of the Golan Heights is illegal, calling for it to be returned to Syria.
The United Nations Disengagement Forces (UNDOF) peacekeeping mission in the Golan Heights has been monitoring a 1974 ceasefire between Israel and Syria following a war in 1973. Currently, all UN peacekeepers have been removed from the Syrian to the Israeli side of the line of demarcation due to insurgency in Syria.
