A Syrian delegation secretly visited Israel at the end of last month, consisting of a senior Ministry of Defense official and local officials from Quneitra province, as reported by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
The visit, which was not officially announced, included direct meetings with officials from the Israeli Ministry of Defense amid escalating regional maneuvers featuring mediation taking place in Azerbaijan between Turkey and Israel regarding the Syrian issue.
Negotiations in the capital Baku, facilitated by Azerbaijan, focus on the security concerns of both Ankara and Tel Aviv. Turkey opposes ongoing Israeli attacks within Syria, viewing them as detrimental to efforts to rebuild the Syrian state. Conversely, Israel perceives any military rapprochement between Damascus and Ankara as a strategic threat that must be contained.
Syrian sources have mentioned clear Israeli demands, including:
– Ensuring that areas close to the Golan Heights are free from any hostile forces
– Preventing the deployment of strategic weapons within Syria
– Committing the Syrian regime to the 1974 disengagement agreement
Syrian President Ahmad al-Shara, during a press conference in Paris, confirmed that indirect negotiations with Israel are ongoing through international mediation, emphasizing that the goal is to prevent escalation and solidify the ceasefire.
On another note, Reuters reported that the United Arab Emirates is playing a mediating role in secret talks between Damascus and Tel Aviv, amidst an unprecedented increase in Israeli activities on Syrian territory following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
A Syrian security source and a regional intelligence official confirmed that discussions are currently focused on building trust and exchanging security information, without yet addressing any long-term political arrangements.
