RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 2 sourcesForeign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani stressed that Damascus’ priority is to halt Israeli attacks.
Listen Summarise Syria expects security talks with Israel to resume soon, aiming for Israel’s withdrawal and an end to Israeli attacks, despite current distrust between the two countries. US is pressuring Israel to return to negotiations, while Syria emphasises halting Israeli aggression before discussing peace or the Golan Heights. Syria denies allowing Turkish forces at the bombed airbase and values support from Turkey and other allies in rebuilding its military amid ongoing tensions. AI generated
DAMASCUS – Syria expects negotiations to resume soon with Israel over a security deal it hopes will lead to Israel’s withdrawal from Syrian land, a top Syrian minister said, urging Israel to seize a “historic opportunity” as the door for diplomacy is open.
In a Reuters interview in Damascus on Aug 22 , days after Israel bombed a Syrian airbase, Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani also stressed that Damascus’ priority is to halt Israeli attacks, saying confidence-building steps were needed in this direction.
Washington has been seeking to forge a security deal between Israel and the government of Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, a new US ally in the Middle East, for over a year. But it has proven elusive as Israel has sent troops into Syrian territory and attacked government assets, citing threats to its security.
Shaibani said negotiations over the security agreement had been frozen since the start of the Iran war, but he expected them to restart. Contact between Syria and Israel was cut after the airbase strike, he said.
“We believe there should be contact, especially with a party that constantly threatens the security of Syria. But if this contact doesn’t bring results, then we don’t need it,” Shaibani said. “We do not trust Israel currently.”
The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office did not respond to a request for comment.
Sharaa has said Syria poses no threat to other countries, with Damascus focused on rebuilding from 14 years of war.
Israeli officials have talked about a range of potential dangers in Syria since Bashar al-Assad was toppled, with some describing the new rulers as barely disguised jihadists in 2025 , even as Sharaa forged close US ties.
In the days after Assad fell in 2024, Israel seized territory in south-west Syria, citing the need to safeguard its citizens against attack, and bombed scores of Syrian military sites.
“Israel has tried to maintain its security through brute force and it hasn’t succeeded anywhere,” Shaibani said. “I believe negotiations will resume soon.”
“The US is trying continuously to put pressure on Israel to return to the dialogue table,” he added.
Asked how optimistic he was, Shaibani said: “It’s very hard to bet on Israel.” But Syria had “very great hope” of building stable relationships with its neighbours.
“Syria is extending its hand for understandings, for peace, for diplomacy” and regional stability.
Tensions over Syria were brought into focus on Aug 18 when Israel bombed the Abu al-Duhur airbase, saying Damascus was about to allow Turkish forces to deploy there. Syria and Turkey denied the claim.
Shaibani said that Syria respected Israel’s security concerns, but Israel must also respect those of Syria, including Israel’s use of its airspace, Israeli raids and arrests in the south.
He said that around the beginning of 2026 , the sides had “agreed on paper to almost everything” regarding a security deal that would require Israel to stop attacking Syria and was tied to its withdrawal from territory seized after Assad fell.
The deal would include several security zones in Syrian territory near the Israeli border, including a buffer zone where only the United Nations would be present, and others where Syrian forces would deploy in varying degrees of force.
But he said Israel had sought to evade implementation, adding: “We did not see they had the real will to reach an agreement.”
Syria and Israel have technically been in a state of war since 1948. Israel seized the Golan Heights from Syria in a 1967 war.
The priority now is to “stop Israeli aggression even before reaching a security agreement”, Shaibani said. “Then perhaps we can open the topics of peace and the Golan.”
US special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack said on Aug 18 that Washington was working to establish a mechanism to prevent conflict among Israel, Turkey and Syria.
Shaibani said there was no agreement yet on the mechanism, which he said must stop attacks and pave the way for the security deal rather than “entrenching... Israeli occupation”.
The US State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Shaibani said Israel had bombed Abu al-Duhur even after Syria conveyed a message that it would not be a Turkish base.
Syria draws on Turkish support in military training and cooperation, he said, noting that this was also the case with Jordan, Saudi Arabia and others.
Damascus was thankful for Ankara’s support in rebuilding its military “and we won’t forgo support”, Shaibani said. REUTERS
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