Security agreement could be reached 'in the coming days,' says Sharaa

Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa said Wednesday that ongoing negotiations with Israel to reach a security pact could yield results "in the coming days," telling reporters in Damascus that such a pact was a "necessity" and should respect Syria's airspace and territorial unity while being supervised by the United Nations, according to Reuters.

The same day, a five-hour meeting took place in London between Israeli minister Ron Dermer, Syrian Foreign Minister Assaad al-Shaibani, and U.S. envoy Tom Barrack, reported the Axios website, citing an "informed source" who specified that progress had been made "towards a possible agreement."

During the meeting, the Syrian side presented its response to the Israeli proposal for a security agreement between the two countries, according to the news site. The Israeli proposal included a map of the envisaged demilitarized zones stretching from Damascus southwest to the border with Israel, according to two sources familiar with the matter, cited two days ago by Axios.

For reference

Damascus, Washington working on 'security agreement' with Israel over southern Syria

Syria and Israel are in talks to reach an agreement that Damascus hopes would guarantee an end to Israeli airstrikes and the withdrawal of Israeli troops who entered southern Syria.

Reuters reported this week that Washington was pressing Syria to reach a deal before the gathering of world leaders next week at the United Nations General Assembly in New York. But Sharaa, during a press briefing with journalists, including Reuters, ahead of his planned trip to New York to attend the meeting, denied that the U.S. was exerting any pressure on Syria and insisted that they were acting as mediators.

He stated that Israel had carried out more than 1,000 strikes in Syria and over 400 ground incursions since Dec. 8, when the rebel offensive he led toppled former Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad.

Sharaa considered Israel's actions to contradict the stated U.S. policy in favor of a stable and unified Syria, which he called "very dangerous." He explained that Damascus was seeking an agreement similar to the 1974 disengagement deal between Israel and Syria, which established a demilitarized zone between the two countries.

He indicated that Syria was demanding the withdrawal of Israeli troops, but that Israel wanted to remain in strategic positions seized after Dec. 8, particularly on Mount Hermon. Israeli ministers have publicly stated that Israel intends to retain control of these sites.

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Toward other agreements?

The Syrian president stated that if the security pact succeeded, other accords could follow, according to Reuters. He gave no details but emphasized that a peace treaty or normalization, similar to the U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords — under which several Muslim-majority countries agreed to normalize diplomatic relations with Israel — is not currently being considered.

He also said it was too early to discuss the fate of the Golan Heights, occupied by Israel, calling it "a matter of great importance."

Reuters reported this week that Israel had ruled out returning this area, which Donald Trump unilaterally recognized as Israeli during his first term as U.S. president. "It's a difficult matter — you have negotiations between a Damascene and a Jew," he told journalists, smiling.

Sharaa also said that Syria and Israel had been only "four or five days" away from laying the groundwork for a security pact in July, but developments in the southern province of Sweida derailed the talks.

Syrian troops were deployed to Sweida in July to quell clashes between armed Druze factions and Bedouin fighters. But the violence worsened, with Syrian forces accused of summary executions, while Israel struck southern Syria, the Defense Ministry in Damascus, and the vicinity of the presidential palace.

Sharaa described Wednesday's strikes near the presidential palace as "not a message, but a declaration of war," while stressing that Syria refrained from a military response in order to preserve the negotiations.