Syrian Official: Meeting with Israel Focused on Containing Escalation and Agreeing on Future Meetings

SadaNews - A Syrian diplomatic source announced on Saturday that a meeting held in Paris between Syrian and Israeli delegations, mediated by the U.S., discussed the possibility of activating the disengagement agreement and "containing the escalation," without resulting in any "final agreements". The source noted that other meetings would be held in the future, according to the state-run Syrian television.

A diplomatic source in Damascus reported on Thursday that an unprecedented meeting took place between Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shabani and Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer, while the U.S. envoy to Syria, Tom Barak, announced in a post on "X" that he met with both the Syrians and Israelis in Paris.

The Syrian official channel quoted the diplomatic source as saying that "the dialogue which brought together a delegation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the General Intelligence with the Israeli side was conducted under U.S. mediation and focused on the recent security developments and attempts to contain the escalation in southern Syria."

The source continued that "the meeting did not result in any final agreements, but was rather preliminary consultations aimed at reducing tensions and reopening communication channels amid ongoing escalations since the beginning of December."

The dialogue touched upon the possibility of reactivating the "disengagement agreement" of 1974, "with international guarantees, demanding the immediate withdrawal of Israeli forces from the positions they have recently advanced to."

The meeting was held following armed clashes in the province of Sweida that erupted on July 13 and resulted in over 1,300 deaths. It began with clashes between armed members of the Druze sect and others from Bedouin tribes and escalated into bloody confrontations in which security forces intervened, and then Israel launched strikes on official sites in Damascus under the pretext of "protecting the Druze."

According to the diplomatic source quoted by the Syrian official channel, the Syrian delegation emphasized during the meeting that "the unity, integrity, and sovereignty of Syrian territories is a non-negotiable principle, and that Sweida and its people are an integral part of the Syrian state, and their status cannot be compromised or isolated under any pretext."

At the conclusion of the meeting, it was agreed to "hold new meetings in the upcoming period, aiming to continue discussions and evaluate steps that would stabilize and contain tensions in the south," according to the same source.

A diplomatic source in Damascus had reported that a direct meeting took place on July 12 between a Syrian official and an Israeli counterpart on the sidelines of a visit by Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharai to Azerbaijan.

Since coming to power in December, the Syrian authorities have acknowledged having indirect negotiations with Israel, stating that the aim is to contain the escalation, after Israel launched hundreds of strikes on the Syrian military arsenal and its forces intruded into the south of the country following the ousting of Bashar al-Assad's regime.

Damascus links the objective of the indirect negotiations with Israel to the return to the application of the disengagement agreement of 1974, concerning the cessation of hostilities and the supervision of a UN force in the demilitarized zone separating the two sides.