Israel and Syria agreed on Wednesday to a joint military-training and deployment plan, as the two countries seek to bolster their ability to coordinate their operations and fight the Islamic State group.
The agreement between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Bashar al-Assad came after days of meetings between the two leaders in a series of high-profile visits to the two capitals, including meetings with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, U.K. Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond and Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon.
During the visit, Netanyahu also met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who had met with Assad in Damascus on Monday.
The plan is to equip the two militaries with military equipment and to train soldiers and policemen in the field, Netanyahu said during a press conference with Yaalon and Kerry.
Israel has been conducting air strikes on the Islamic States-held Syrian city of Raqqa in recent weeks and is also carrying out strikes on targets inside Syria, including near the border with Iraq.
The two countries, along with the United States and its allies, have been leading the international coalition in the campaign to defeat the Islamic extremists.
Assad has long denied involvement in the recent attacks in the country.
The U.N. Security Council passed a resolution last week condemning the attacks.
