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Shaibani wants Israel talks restarted after 11 governments rebuke the Abu Duhur raid

Shaibani said a nearly complete security text should return to the table, and that attacks should stop first. In a text released by Turkey's foreign ministry, 11 governments called the Abu Duhur raid an extreme escalation.

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An open doorway in a dark blue diplomatic corridor frames two empty negotiating chairs under warm light.

Shaibani says security talks should restart

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani told Reuters that talks frozen at the start of the US-Israel war on Iran should restart soon, with no date set and no trust in the other side. He said the two sides had agreed on paper to almost all of a security deal earlier this year; the text covered zones near the Israeli border, a buffer zone where only the United Nations would be present, and areas where Syrian forces would deploy in varying strength. Al-Shaibani said Israel had sought to evade implementation, that Damascus wants the attacks stopped first, and that confidence-building steps are needed. Washington has spent more than a year trying to broker a deal between Israel and the government of President Ahmed al-Sharaa; al-Shaibani said the United States is pressing Israel to return to the table. Tensions rose again last week when Israel bombed the Abu al-Duhur airbase, saying Damascus was about to let Turkish forces deploy there, a claim both Syria and Turkey denied. Israel's prime minister's office did not respond to a request for comment.[1]

11 governments call the Abu Duhur raid an extreme escalation

The foreign ministers of Turkey, Algeria, Indonesia, Jordan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mauritania, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Somalia, together with the Palestinian side, called the Israeli attack on a Syrian air base an extreme escalation. The Turkish Foreign Ministry released the joint text. The ministers warned that attacks on Syria weaken the country's reconstruction and its attempt to restore security. The strike hit the Abu Duhur base early on Tuesday, causing damage and no reported casualties. Netanyahu's office tied the choice of target to Syria being about to break an agreed status quo in security matters by letting Turkish troops deploy there. That reasoning is the Israeli government's own account; no confirmation from the Syrian side or an independent source was reported.[2]

Haaretz reports a Gofman-Shaibani meeting that neither government confirmed

Haaretz reported on Sunday, citing a source with knowledge of the meeting, that Mossad chief Roman Gofman and Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani had met. According to the Israeli paper, the contact was part of an effort to lower tensions after the Israeli air strike this week on Syria's Abu Duhur airbase. That strike drew a rare US rebuke of Israel, and Damascus called it a breach of its sovereignty. No location, length or content of the meeting was given; the account rests on a single unnamed source, and neither government confirmed the meeting.[3]

References

  1. News sourceAl JazeeraSyria keeps the door open to security talks with Israel while withholding its trust↩
  2. News sourceNaharnetThe Abu Duhur raid draws a joint statement from 11 governments↩
  3. News sourceMiddle East EyeAn unconfirmed meeting between the Mossad chief and Syria's foreign minister↩
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