Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa arrives for a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Lotte New York Palace Hotel on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York, Sept. 22, 2025. (Credit: Bing Guan/AFP)
Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa warned Tuesday of further turmoil in the Middle East if Israel and the transitional government he represents fail to reach a security agreement, as U.S. envoy for Syria and Lebanon Tom Barrack discussed the imminent conclusion of a "de-escalation" deal.
The former jihadist leader, who came to power after the fall of former President Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, will on Wednesday become the first Syrian leader to address the U.N. General Assembly since 1967. His country has been the target of repeated attacks and incursions by Israel, which is taking advantage of a moment of weakness for its historic foe.
'We are afraid of Israel'
"We are not the ones causing problems for Israel. We are afraid of Israel, not the other way around," he said at an event in New York organized by the American think tank, the Middle East Institute.
"There are multiple risks related to Israel delaying negotiations and continuing to violate our airspace and enter our territory," he said.
He rejected any discussion about partitioning his country, as Israel continues its incursions and claims to defend the interests of the Druze minority. "Jordan is under pressure; any discussion about partitioning Syria will harm Iraq, will harm Turkey," he said. "It will bring us all back to square one," he said, noting that Syria had just emerged from a decade and a half of war.
On Tuesday evening, Barrack said Damascus and Tel Aviv were close to concluding a "de-escalation" agreement, in which Israel would cease its attacks on the country while Syria would agree not to move machinery or heavy equipment near the Israeli border.
Insufficient progress
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly meetings in New York, Barrack said this agreement would be "a first step toward a security arrangement that the two countries are currently negotiating."
U.S. President Donald Trump has sought to "secure an agreement between the two parties which was to be announced this week, but the progress made so far has been deemed insufficient and the Rosh Hashana holiday, the Jewish New Year celebrated this week, has slowed the process," the envoy said, according to remarks reported by Haaretz.
Syria and Israel technically remain at war, but have opened direct negotiations to reach a deal that Damascus hopes will lead to a halt to Israeli air strikes and the withdrawal of Israeli troops that have entered southern Syria. Since the fall of the Assad regime last December, representatives of the two countries have met several times. On Monday, Sharaa ruled out any immediate recognition of Israel.
