Ahmed al-Sharaa confirms Syria and Israel in indirect deconfliction talks
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said that his government was holding "indirect talks" with Israel to calm tensions between the two countries, following devastating Israeli strikes taking place since December.
"There are indirect talks (with Israel) taking place through mediators to calm the situation and try to contain the situation so it does not reach the point where it escapes the control of both sides," Sharaa told a press conference in Paris alongside French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday.
Sharaa’s comments came a few hours after Reuters reported that the UAE established itself as a channel of communication between Syria and Israel.
Syria also has relations with Jordan, Egypt and Turkey, all of whom have relations with Israel.
Turkey is a close supporter of Sharaa’s government and is negotiating a defence pact with Damascus that has unnerved Israel. Middle East Eye was the first to report that Turkey and Israel were in talks to establish their own Syrian deconfliction line.
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Sharaa, speaking in Paris during a landmark visit to Europe, said that "Random Israeli interventions... have violated the 1974" armistice.
The decades-old agreement sought to limit border tensions between Syria and Israel after the 1967 War and was negotiated by US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.
“Since we arrived in Damascus, we have told all relevant parties that Syria is committed to the 1974 agreement,” Sharaa added.
France says Israeli bombing 'bad practice'
Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on the country since former President Bashar al-Assad’s removal in December.
Israel sent troops to occupy a swath of southwestern Syria after Assad’s ousting and has conducted regular bombing campaigns. Israel launched strikes earlier this month near Sharaa’s presidential palace in a major escalation.
Israel has tried to position itself as a defender of Syria’s Druze minority after fighting erupted between pro-government militias and Druze fighters. However, most in the community have resisted Israel.
Israel continues to insist on the full demilitarisation of southern Syria, including any Turkish or Syrian military presence.
Israeli troops currently occupy a UN-patrolled buffer zone along the 1974 armistice line through the Golan Heights, although they have also pushed deeper into Syrian territory.
Sharaa said the United Nations disengagement observer force must "return to the Blue Line of separation", adding that UNDOF had made a number of visits to Damascus.
Macron condemned Israeli strikes on Syria, saying they would not guarantee "Israel's long-term security".
"As for bombings and incursions, I think it's bad practice. You don't ensure your country's security by violating the territorial integrity of your neighbours," Macron said.
France eyes Syrian port
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said more than 20 strikes hit military targets across Syria last week, in the "heaviest" assault carried out by Israel on its neighbour this year.
Sharaa said that "we are trying to speak with all countries that are in contact with the Israeli side to pressure them to stop interfering in Syria's affairs, violating its airspace and bombing some of its facilities".
Sharaa’s government is also in contact with the US. It has taken some steps to address Israeli and US concerns.
Last month, Damascus arrested two senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad officials in a sign that one US official told MEE was intended to demonstrate Damascus’ capabilities.
The US is in the process of pulling out hundreds of troops from northeastern Syria as it presses Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces to integrate with the Syrian army, now led by the former Islamist rebel group, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham.
Sharaa’s visit to France comes as Paris bolsters its role in Syria. Earlier this month, France’s CMA shipping, which enjoys close ties to the French government, signed a 30-year deal to manage Syria’s Latakia port with a pledge to invest $260m in infrastructure.
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