Syria, Israel hold talks to ease recent tensions

DAMASCUS

Syria said it held talks with Israel in Jordan on Aug. 23 on de-escalation after recent Israeli strikes, and on keeping the country out of tensions between Israel and Türkiye, an ally of Damascus.

The high-level negotiations came after the sides in January agreed to establish an intelligence-sharing mechanism as they edge towards a security agreement.

They also came after Israel bombed the disused Abu Duhur airbase in the country’s northwest earlier in the week, claiming it wanted to avert Turkish troops deploying to the facility. Ankara denied any visit to the site.

Syrian state news agency SANA quoted a diplomatic source at the foreign ministry saying “a high-level Syrian delegation headed by the foreign minister and including the general and military intelligence chiefs” met a high-level Israeli delegation “under American mediation and hosted by Jordan.”

The meeting was “part of efforts aiming at de-escalation after recent Israeli bombardment of Syrian territory, escalating tensions in southern Syria, and in support of stability in Syria and the region”, said the source.

Discussions also addressed “efforts aimed at bringing closer the viewpoints between Turkey and Israel and ensuring the current tension between the two countries are not reflected on Syria territory,” the report added.

A diplomatic source and a Syrian government source told AFP that Foreign Minister Assad al-Shaibani met the head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency Roman Gofman.

They discussed issues such as establishing “a special operations room” in Jordan under U.S. supervision to prevent any confrontation in Syria, including involving Türkiye, the sources added.

U.S. envoy for Syria Tom Barrack had slammed Israel’s attack on the airbase on Aug. 18 as an “unnecessary escalation that does not advance regional stability.”

The Syrian government source told AFP that the Aug. 23 talks were the first between Israel and Syria in some time, while the diplomatic source said they were the first in several months.