As Moscow urges Damascus and Ankara to cooperate and to revive the Adana agreement, Russian-Iranian relations in Syria face their next challenge. The controversy between Moscow and Tehran has always been a part of the Syrian conflict. However, the debates between the two have started to become more political in nature, influencing the future of Syria’s armed forces and other military entities.
On Jan. 25, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told CNN that he would have rather avoided using the term "allies" to describe Russia's relations with Iran and Syria. He also said that Russia realizes the importance of maintaining Israel’s security. Three days earlier, the Israeli air force launched a heavy attack on Iranian facilities in Syria. Reacting to this, Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh, the chair of Iran's parliamentary foreign policy commission, said that the Israeli army may have a system of coordination with Russian air defense structures.