ZOAHARIAN.COM -Efforts to reduce tensions between Syria and Israel are entering a new phase. Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani reportedly met with Israeli intelligence officials in Jordan, in a meeting mediated by the United States.

Syria's state news agency, SANA, quoted a diplomatic source as saying the talks involved a high-level Israeli delegation. AFP reported that al-Shaibani met with Mossad Chief Roman Gofman.

The meeting took place after Israel launched an attack on the Abu Duhur air base in the northwestern Idlib region, near the Turkish border. Israel said the attack was carried out to prevent the possible deployment of Turkish troops at the base. However, this claim was denied by the Syrian government and Türkiye.

Discuss Stopping Israeli Attacks

According to SANA, talks between the two sides focused on establishing practical mechanisms to stop Israeli attacks, arrests and targeting operations in Syrian territory.

The two sides also discussed the possibility of reviving negotiations on a long-term security deal between Syria and Israel.

Another issue that is also of concern is the tension between Israel and Türkiye. Syria and the United States are said to be trying to prevent the rivalry between the two countries from developing into a wider conflict in Syrian territory.

Syria Affirms Sovereign Rights

In these negotiations, the Syrian government emphasized that its country is a sovereign country that has the right to rebuild and develop its national armed forces and determine alliances and partnerships based on national interests.

Damascus also rejects any form of regulation that is considered to limit its sovereign rights.

Syria's top priority in the negotiations is to get Israel to withdraw from positions it occupied after the fall of Bashar al-Assad's government in December 2024. Syria is also demanding the full restoration of the 1974 troop disengagement agreement.

In addition, the Syrian government reaffirmed its claim of sovereignty over the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Israel Proposes a Number of Conditions

Meanwhile, Israeli media reported that the talks were positive. However, the Israeli delegation is said to have set a number of red lines in the negotiations.

Among these are demands to prevent Turkish military activity in Syria, maintain demilitarization on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights, and guarantee the security of the Druze community in Syria.

Israel is also said to want to prevent the Syrian military from obtaining certain strategic weapons systems.

In the issue of troop withdrawal, Israel reportedly linked the possible withdrawal from the Syrian territory it occupied to what it called a "diplomatic achievement".

Israel-Türkiye tensions also loom

The meeting took place amid increasing tensions between Israel and Türkiye. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan exchanged criticism after the attack on the Abu Duhur base.

The United States itself has been trying to mediate in the formation of a security agreement between Israel and the government of Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa for more than a year.

Since the fall of Bashar al-Assad, Israel has launched hundreds of attacks on a number of locations in Syria and deployed troops to the UN-patrolled buffer zone that for years separated Israeli and Syrian forces around the Golan Heights.

The meeting in Jordan is now one of the latest diplomatic efforts to prevent an escalation of the conflict while paving the way for a more permanent security arrangement between Damascus and Tel Aviv.

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