Syria Expects Israel Security Talks to Resume, Minister Says

Syria's Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani has said he expects negotiations with Israel over a security agreement to resume in the near future, even as he acknowledged a deep lack of trust between the two sides. In an interview in Damascus, Shaibani urged Israel to seize what he called a "historic opportunity," stating that the door for diplomacy remains open.

Negotiations on the proposed security deal have been frozen since the start of the Iran war, and no date has been set for their resumption. Contact between the two countries was cut following a recent Israeli airbase strike. Shaibani stressed that while contact is necessary with a party that threatens Syria's security, it is only worthwhile if it yields results.

"We do not trust Israel currently," he said, adding that confidence-building steps are needed to halt Israeli attacks. He noted that Washington has been applying pressure on Israel to return to the dialogue table.

Shaibani revealed that around the beginning of the year, the two sides had "agreed on paper to almost everything" regarding a draft deal. That agreement would have required Israel to stop attacks on Syria and was tied to its withdrawal from territory seized after the fall of Bashar al-Assad. The plan includes several security zones near the border, including a buffer zone where only United Nations forces would be present.

However, Shaibani said Israel had sought to evade implementation, and he did not see a real will on its part to reach an agreement. He reiterated that Syria's priority is to stop Israeli aggression, even before a security deal is finalised, and that topics like peace and the Golan Heights could be addressed later.

Tensions were heightened this week when Israel bombed the Abu al-Duhur airbase, claiming Damascus was about to allow Turkish forces to deploy there—a claim both Syria and Turkey denied. Shaibani said the strike occurred even after Syria conveyed a message that the base would not be used by Turkey.

On a potential U.S.-proposed mechanism to prevent conflict among Israel, Turkey, and Syria, Shaibani said no agreement exists yet. He insisted that any such mechanism must halt attacks and pave the way for the security deal, rather than entrenching Israeli occupation.