Israel laid groundwork to form Syria ties through UAE in April meeting
Contacts include regular phone calls between Israeli and Syrian officials, revolving security coordination, and an exchange of views regarding the situation in southern Syria
Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa met with senior Israeli security officials in the United Arab Emirates in April to lay the groundwork for the current talks over peace and normalization, a Syrian source with knowledge of the matter told i24NEWS.
The April 13 meeting in Abu Dhabi was attended by senior officials from the Israeli Mossad, the National Security Council, and IDF intelligence, through the mediation of the Emiratis.
This meeting established a new phase in relations between Israel and Syria and opened the door to further direct contacts between Jerusalem and Damascus.
According to the Syrian source, these contacts include regular phone calls between Israeli and Syrian officials, revolving security coordination, and an exchange of views regarding the situation in southern Syria.
As negotiations for a peace agreement between Israel and Syria continue behind the scenes, relations between Jerusalem and Damascus are expected to be built gradually, laying the foundation for a possible peace agreement by the end of 2025, as initially reported by i24NEWS.
The process will be gradual, and include several stages, according to a Syrian source with knowledge of the matter.
The first phase will be signing a security and military agreement, including renewed mutual recognition of the 1974 Armistice Agreement.
The second phase will see a full Israeli withdrawal from all the areas of southern Syria, which it seized following the fall of the Assad regime, followed by negotiations over the future of the Golan Heights. The Syrian side is expected to show flexibility on the matter of the Golan Heights, the Syrian source stated.
"Peace will not be achieved without concessions from all parties to reach an acceptable formula," the source said. "President al-Sharaa is very open to peace with Israel and truly wants to reach a peace agreement, as he expressed in his meeting with US President Trump and with U.S. Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack."
Another step along the way to peace will be Israeli recognition of Syrian sovereignty and unity, as well as an end to Israeli threats against the new Syrian government and ceasing all attacks on Syrian territory, the Syrian source explained.
This will include an Israeli commitment not to interfere in the internal affairs of Syria and Damascus's relations to the country's ethnic minorities, including the Druze, Alawites, and Kurds.