BEIRUT — When traveling from Beirut to Damascus these days, two things are noticeable: a decrease in the number of military checkpoints from the Lebanon-Syria border all the way to the Syrian capital, and the many posters glued to electricity poles along the roads that call on the Syrian youths to join the army, claiming, “You are the only ones that can bring us together.” There might not be a logical correlation between these two observations, but they seem like a fitting prelude to Al-Monitor’s interview with a Syrian government official on the situation in his country and the latest developments of the conflict there.

The Syrian official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Al-Monitor that the decrease in the number of military checkpoints is due to the Syrian authorities’ relative confidence with the military and security situation in Damascus and its surroundings, stretching all the way to the Lebanese border. Before the official elaborated on this, he provided a quick reading of the reasons behind the Syrian government's stance.

He told Al-Monitor, “In the past few weeks, there hasn’t been a drastic change in the number of soldiers and equipment. Nevertheless, our armed forces have lately made significant advancements on several fronts — in Zabadani in eastern Damascus, Palmyra in the north and all the way to Hasakah and Qamishli on the Iraqi border. Our capabilities did not increase, meaning those of the gunmen have decreased. This is certainly a result of political pressure — those that have given them weapons, equipment, ammunition and money have either decreased or stopped [giving aid]. This is the only logical explanation given the information at hand.”

Al-Monitor then asked if he meant that this is the preliminary result of the communications between Syria and Saudi Arabia. The Syrian official smiled and neither confirmed nor denied the news about possible communications. He said, “Saudi Deputy Crown Prince and Minister of Defense Mohammed bin Salman visited Russia in mid-June. Our Russian friends told us that the meeting between the Saudi official and Russian President Vladimir Putin started with the Saudi side addressing the economic and investment cooperation [between the two countries], as well as other general issues. Yet Putin was quick to discuss the issue of terrorism. Putin told his Saudi guest that Moscow was also interested in confronting extremism and terrorist acts. Salman replied that the kingdom is aware of the challenges facing Russia in Ukraine, the Caucasus and other areas in Asia [under its control]. Putin, however, frankly replied that this wasn't what he was referring to, but rather the terrorism that is coming from Syria in particular, which is significant and the most dangerous.”