Latest news with #Israeli delegation
Asharq Al-Awsat
5 hours ago
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Syrian Foreign Minister Met Israeli Delegation for Regional Stability Talks
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani met an Israeli delegation in Paris on Tuesday to discuss bolstering stability in the region and southern Syria, Syria's state news agency SANA reported. Syrian and Israeli officials have been conducting US-mediated talks on de-escalating the conflict in southern Syria. The discussions between the Israeli and Syrian sides focused on de-escalation and non-interference in Syrian domestic affairs, according to SANA. The meeting also saw discussions on the reactivation of the 1974 disengagement agreement between Israel and Syria that created a UN buffer zone in the occupied Golan Heights. It was the second meeting between the two sides in the French capital in less than a month after they agreed in July to continue talks after no final accord was reached on de-escalating tensions in southern Syria. Hundreds of people have been reported killed in clashes in the southern Syrian province of Sweida between Druze fighters, Bedouin tribes and government forces. Israel intervened with airstrikes to prevent what it said was mass killings of Druze by government forces. The clashes last month underlined the challenges interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa faces in stabilizing Syria and maintaining centralized rule, despite warming ties with the US and his administration's evolving security contacts with Israel.
Yahoo
16 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Syrian, Israeli diplomats met in Paris to discuss 'de-escalation': report
Syria's foreign minister met with an Israeli diplomatic delegation in Paris on Tuesday to discuss "de-escalation and non-interference in Syria's internal affairs", state news agency SANA reported. The latest in a series of US-mediated talks resulted in "understandings that support stability in the region", the agency said. Washington has been at work in recent weeks to try to resolve security issues in Syria and Lebanon, which its ally Israel says have prompted it to take military action. Despite a truce reached last November, Israel has continued to hit targets of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group in Lebanon, and it has occupied territory and hit targets across Syria since last year's fall of dictator Bashar al-Assad. Tuesday's meeting in Paris follows one between Syrian Foreign Minister Assad al-Shaibani and Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer in Baku in late July, and another meeting in Paris before that. Israel and Syria have technically been at war since 1948, and the talks also discussed reviving a disengagement accord from 1974 that created a buffer zone between the two countries. "These talks are taking place under US mediation, as part of diplomatic efforts aimed at enhancing security and stability in Syria and preserving the unity and integrity of its territory," the agency said. The recent meetings between the two countries come after deadly sectarian clashes in July in southern Syria's Druze-majority Sweida province which left over 1,400 people dead. The clashes initially pitted local Druze fighters against Sunni Bedouin tribes but soon saw the involvement of Syrian government forces and Israel, with the latter saying it wanted to protect the Druze. Last month, Israel struck the Syrian presidential palace and the army headquarters in Damascus. The United States, an ally of Israel but who has expressed support for Syria's new leaders, announced a ceasefire between the two sides overnight on July 18. bur-lk/emp/rmb/gv/sla
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Syria's foreign minister held a rare meeting with an Israeli delegation in Paris, report says
Syria's foreign minister held a rare meeting with an Israeli delegation in Paris, report says BEIRUT (AP) — Syria's foreign minister held a rare meeting with an Israeli delegation in Paris on Tuesday, the Syrian state-run news agency reported. The talks were brokered by the United States, which has been pushing for Syria and Israel to normalize relations, the report said. The SANA news agency said Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani met with Israeli officials to discuss de-escalating tensions and restoring a 1974 ceasefire agreement. Syrian officials have acknowledged holding indirect talks with Israel to defuse tensions. There was no immediate confirmation of such a meeting from Israel. Tensions have soared between the two neighboring countries following the overthrow of Syrian President Bashar Assad in December. Israeli forces seized control of a U.N.-patrolled buffer zone in Syria shortly after Assad's overthrow and carried out airstrikes on military sites in what officials said was aimed at creating a demilitarized zone south of Damascus. Israel has said it will not allow hostile forces to establish themselves along the frontier, as Iranian-backed groups did during Assad's rule. It distrusts Syria's new government, which is led by former Islamist insurgents. Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, a former al-Qaida commander who severed ties with the militant group years ago, has pledged to build a new country that respects the rights of minorities, but sectarian violence has erupted on a number of occasions, raising concerns about the country's fragile transition. Israel stepped up its intervention when violence erupted in Syria's Sweida province last month between Bedouin clans and government forces on one side and armed groups from the Druze religious minority on the other. The conflict then prompted airstrikes against Syrian forces by Israel in defense of the Druze before a truce — mediated by the U.S., Turkey and Arab countries — halted most of the fighting. Israel said it was acting to protect t he Druze, who are seen as a loyal minority in Israel and often serve in the military. Israel launched dozens of airstrikes on convoys of Syrian forces around Sweida and struck the headquarters of the Syrian Ministry of Defense in the heart of Damascus, Syria's capital. Israels seized the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Mideast war and later annexed the strategic plateau in a move that has only been recognized by the United States. The rest of the international community views the Golan as occupied Syrian territory. The Associated Press
