A Syrian-Israeli ministerial meeting is set to take place Thursday in Baku to discuss security matters in southern Syria, a diplomat told AFP.
The meeting between Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani and Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer follows a similar meeting between the two ministers in Paris last week.
It will take place after an unprecedented visit by Shaibani to Moscow on Thursday, added the diplomat, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.
Russia was a key backer of former President Bashar al-Assad, overthrown in an Islamist-led offensive in December.
Israel and Syria have technically been at war since 1948.
The meeting in Baku will focus on “the security situation, particularly in southern Syria”.
The Paris meeting focused mainly on “recent security developments and attempts to contain the escalation in southern Syria”, according to Syrian state television.
It came after deadly clashes in southern Syria’s Druze-majority Sweida province which killed over 1400 people, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor.
The clashes initially pitted local Druze fighters against Sunni Bedouin tribes but soon saw the involvement of Syrian government forces and Israel, with the latter saying it wanted to protect the Druze.
Israel struck the Syrian presidential palace and the army headquarters in Damascus.
The United States, an ally of Israel who has also expressed support for Syria’s authorities, announced a ceasefire between the two sides overnight on July 18.
Before the violence in Sweida, Syrian and Israeli officials had met in Baku on July 12.
– Russian bases –
Israel has occupied Syria’s Golan Heights since 1967, annexing it in 1981 in a move not recognised by the international community.
The two signed a disengagement agreement a year after the 1973 war, establishing a UN-patrolled buffer zone between Syria and the occupied Golan Heights.
Since the fall of Assad, Israel deployed its troops to the buffer zone and has carried out hundreds of strikes on Syria.
Damascus admitted to holding indirect talks with Israel to reduce escalations.
The diplomat said Shaibani will head on Thursday to the Russian capital, where Assad sought refuge, and will meet with Russian officials to discuss several issues, including Russian military bases in Syria, to negotiate “the terms of the bases’ continued existence and operating rights”.
Moscow wishes to keep its naval base in Tartus and its airbase in Hmeimim.
It faced heavy criticism for its intervention into Syria’s civil war on Assad’s side in 2015, supporting the government militarily and carrying countless airstrikes on rebel-held areas.
The new Islamist-led authorities in Damascus did not break ties with Russia after taking over, and Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov met Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus in January.
According to the diplomat, Shaibani’s trip to Moscow will also include talks on “supporting bilateral cooperation and revitalising diplomatic and security relations” between the two countries, as well as discussing “steps regarding internal security and foreign fighters”.
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© Agence France-Presse
