Damascus and Israel meet again in Jordan after the February freeze
Syrian and Israeli delegations returned to US-mediated talks in Jordan, covering a halt to attacks, a security agreement and the risk of Israel-Turkey tensions spilling into Syria.
Geopolitics··Evening
The delegations met under US mediation on Sunday
Syrian and Israeli delegations met in Jordan on Sunday under US mediation. Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani led the Syrian side and Mossad chief Roman Gofman headed the Israeli delegation. Damascus raised arrangements to halt Israeli attacks and a return to negotiations over a security agreement. Syria's state news agency SANA announced the meeting, while AFP and Reuters also reported its details. The encounter reopened the channel that had frozen at the end of February.[1]
Damascus frames its army and alliance choices as sovereign decisions
Al-Shaibani said Syria had the right to rebuild and develop its national army and determine its own alliances. He said Damascus would reject arrangements that restricted those sovereign choices. Earlier talks had covered zones near the border, a buffer zone where only the UN would be present and areas where Syrian forces would deploy at varying strength. According to al-Shaibani, the sides had reached written agreement on most of a security deal earlier in the year, but implementation had not followed.[1], [2]
Israel-Turkey tensions also enter the talks
The delegations also discussed reducing tensions between Israel and Turkey and preventing their rivalry from spilling onto Syrian territory. Earlier US-mediated rounds reached agreement on a joint intelligence-sharing arrangement. The talks stopped at the end of February after the United States and Israel launched military operations against Iran. Al-Shaibani had previously said Damascus did not trust Israel and wanted attacks to stop before confidence-building measures; the Jordan meeting took place with those conditions already stated.[1], [2]
