Syria Seeking to Halt Israeli Attacks in Indirect Talks

Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa is engaged in indirect talks with Israel in an attempt to end Israeli attacks on his country, the leader announced this week following an official visit to France, CNN reported Thursday. 

Since former Syrian President Bashar Assad was ousted in December, Israel has taken additional Syrian territory and launched a series of attacks to stop the reconstitution of military capabilities and combat Islamist militancy, which it views as a threat to its security. 

Israeli officials now say they will keep a military presence in Syria indefinitely, after creating a buffer zone in southern Syria to protect the country’s Druze minority. 

At a Paris news conference Wednesday, al-Sharaa called on Israel to respect the United Nations-brokered 1974 disengagement agreement, which set up a buffer zone between Syria and the Golan Heights region that Israel captured in the 1967 Six-Day War. 

The United Arab Emirates has set up a backchannel for talks focused on security, intelligence matters, and confidence-building between Syria and Israel, as Syria’s new government asked for regional help in navigating the hostile relationship with its southern neighbor, according to Reuters. 

However, UAE officials denied the country’s role as a mediator in such talks. 

Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron urged the United States and the European Union to lift sanctions against Syria following al-Sharaa’s visit. He also appealed to Washington to keep their troops in the country and reassess the situation at a later time, wrote Politico.  

The international community has been hesitant toward al-Sharaa, a former al-Qaida member, ever since his forces ousted Assad and gained power. He had vowed to protect minorities in the country and pursue inclusive policies, but the spike in sectarian violence in recent months has cast doubts on those promises. 

In February, the EU lifted restrictions surrounding energy, transport, and banking, but this decision needs to be reviewed by June.  

Macron called on the EU to stand by its original decision and urged the US to lift its sanctions against Syria as well, while al-Sharaa argued that the penalties had been imposed on the old regime and that there is no reason to maintain them.