Syrian president says his government is holding indirect talks with Israel
Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa has said that his government is holding indirect talks with Israel to bring an end to Israeli attacks on Syria.
'There are indirect negotiations (with Israel) via mediators to calm and contain the situation so matters don't reach a point where both sides lose control,' Al-Sharaa said at a news conference in Paris.
'We are trying to speak to all the countries that are in contact with the Israeli side to pressure them to stop interfering in Syrian affairs.'
Al-Sharaa said the objective is for Israel to abide by the United Nations-brokered 1974 disengagement agreement with Syria, and retreat to the boundary it demarcated to make way for the return of UN peacekeepers. The boundary separates Syria proper from Israel and the occupied Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 war.
Debris is scattered at the site of an Israeli strike on a military airbase near Hama, Syria, on April 3. - Omar Albam/AP/File
Since the regime of former President Bashar al-Assad fell in December, Israel has taken more territory in Syria and staged multiple attacks to prevent reconstitution of military capabilities and root out militancy that it says could threaten its security. Israel's move into Syrian territory was initially described as temporary but officials have since said that the military will remain in Syria indefinitely.
Israel has declared a buffer zone in the south of Syria with the stated aim of protecting Syria's Druze minority, and on Wednesday Israel Police said that its Border Police are now operating inside Syria, for the first time.
'The Israeli interventions have violated the 1974 agreement. Since we arrived in Damascus we stated to all relevant parties that Syria is committed to the 1974 agreement,' Al-Sharaa said.
Reuters reported on Wednesday that the United Arab Emirates has set up a back channel for talks between Israel and Syria, citing sources it didn't identify. The talks are focused on security and intelligence matters and confidence-building, it said. Al-Sharaa visited the UAE last month.
But Lana Nusseibeh, UAE assistant foreign minister for political affairs, denied that her country was mediating talks between Israel and Syria.
'The claim that the UAE is 'mediating secret talks' between Syria and Israel is categorically false. The UAE is not part of any such talks,' she said.
CNN has reached out to the Israeli Prime Minister's Office for comment.
CNN's Eugenia Yosef contributed to this report.
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