Russia may replace Austrian UN peacekeepers who withdrew from the Golan Heights on the Israel-Syria border. A UN representative has welcomed the proposal, first announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“In view of the complicated situation which is currently unfolding on the Golan Heights, we could replace the Austrian peacekeeping contingent, which is withdrawing from this region, on the disengagement line between the Israeli troops and the Syrian army,” Putin said on Friday.

“Naturally, that will happen only if the regional powers show interest in our proposal and if the U.N. secretary-general asks us to do that,” he added. 

During his last visit to Russia, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon asked Moscow to “bolster its involvement in the UN peacekeeping operations,” the president said. 

The UN would welcome Russia’s contribution to peacekeeping efforts in the region, UN deputy spokesperson Farhan Hak told RIA Novosti.

The United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF), which was deployed to the border region in 1974 to observe the Syrian-Israeli ceasefire, is “very important for maintaining the peace in the region,” Hak stressed.

Austria withdrew its 377 peacekeepers on Thursday after the rebel Free Syrian Army took a crossing post operated by the UNDOF contingent near the Syrian city of Quneitra. 

Syrian government forces reportedly retook the UNDOF post after a day of combat. The Israeli-occupied Golan Heights was reportedly shelled in the process.

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