Mossad Chief meets Syrian Foreign Minister in bid to ease tensions
“Israel and Syria held a high-level meeting with the aim of easing tensions,” the source told i24NEWS, describing the talks as “good.”
Mossad chief Roman Gofman met Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani on Sunday for high-level talks aimed at reducing tensions between Israel and Syria, a source familiar with the meeting confirmed to i24NEWS.
The meeting suggests that direct contacts between the two sides are continuing despite recent tensions over an Israeli strike on an airbase near Idlib and conflicting reports over the status of negotiations between Jerusalem and Damascus.
“Israel and Syria held a high-level meeting with the aim of easing tensions,” the source told i24NEWS, describing the talks as “good.”
The development comes after al-Shibani said that negotiations with Israel had been halted following last week’s airstrike. In an interview with Reuters, however, the Syrian foreign minister also indicated that Damascus expects negotiations over a security agreement to resume.
Syria hopes such an agreement could eventually lead to an Israeli withdrawal from Syrian territory, according to al-Shibani.
Al-Shibani acknowledged that lack of trust in his Reuters interview, pointing in particular to last week’s Israeli strike.
Syria “does not trust Israel,” he said, but argued that communication remains necessary, “particularly with an entity that is always threatening Syria’s security.”
The dispute surrounding the Abu al-Zuhour airbase has become another point of friction involving not only Israel and Syria, but also Turkey.
According to al-Shibani, Damascus had conveyed messages to Israel before the strike assuring it that Abu al-Zuhour would not become a Turkish military base.
Israeli reporting, however, presented a different picture. Reports indicated that Turkey was planning to deploy air-defense systems at the site. Such a deployment would be viewed by Israel as a significant strategic development because Turkish-operated air defenses in Syria could potentially restrict the Israeli Air Force’s freedom of operation.
Israeli officials have also been concerned that an expanded Turkish military presence in Syria could complicate air corridors used for operations farther east, including potential routes toward Iran.