A Syrian delegation including Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani was holding a new round of negotiations with Israel on Monday, state news agency SANA reported, the first in several months.
Quoting a government source, SANA said the talks were coordinated and mediated by Washington, adding that the discussions were focused on reaching “a balanced security agreement” between the two countries.
Two diplomatic sources told AFP that the US-mediated talks were being held in Paris.
SANA said the negotiations were focused on reactivating a 1974 disengagement agreement and guaranteeing “the withdrawal of Israeli forces” to their positions before the overthrow of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.
After Assad’s ousting, Israel sent troops into the UN-patrolled buffer zone which has separated Israeli and Syrian forces on the Golan Heights for decades.
Israel has also carried out repeated incursions deeper into Syrian territory since then, as well as bombings, and has said it wants a demilitarised zone in the country’s south.
France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot spoke to Shaibani on Monday in Paris, the French foreign ministry said in a statement.
“The two ministers stressed the importance of working towards the restoration of a unified, stable and sovereign Syria. In that regard, they mentioned the necessity of coming to a security arrangement with Israel in Syria’s south,” the statement said.
The United States has been pushing Syria and Israel to reach an agreement that would halt hostilities between the two countries, technically at war since 1948.
“The resumption of these negotiations is confirmation of Syria’s firm commitment to restoring its non-negotiable national rights,” the government source told SANA, adding that intelligence chief Hussein al-Salama was also part of the delegation.
Syria and Israel opened direct negotiations after Assad was toppled by an Islamist-led coalition.
Officials have met on several occasions, most recently in September, but Israel’s insistence on a demilitarised zone in southern Syria has been a major stumbling block.
Last month, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said the demand would endanger his country and urged Israel to respect the 1974 deal.
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© Agence France-Presse
