U.S.-brokered talks between Syria and Israel have resumed after being paused for several months, Syria’s state news agency SANA reported on Monday. Damascus is pressing for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from territory taken after the fall of Bashar al-Assad.
According to SANA, which cited a Syrian government source, the talks are being led by Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani alongside intelligence chief Hussein al-Salama. The source said the renewed negotiations reflect Syria’s efforts to reclaim what it considers its non-negotiable national rights.
The discussions are centred on reviving the 1974 disengagement agreement, which created a United Nations-monitored buffer zone between Syrian and Israeli forces following the 1973 Middle East war.
Israeli troops moved further across the border after Assad was overthrown on 8 December 2024 by rebel forces that later assumed control of the country. Israel has also carried out operations it says are aimed at protecting the Druze minority in southwestern Syria.
Syria is seeking an Israeli pullback to positions held prior to Assad’s removal and is calling for a reciprocal security arrangement that would guarantee its sovereignty and prevent interference in its internal affairs.
A Syrian official told Reuters last month that the talks had been stalled since October, but said Damascus anticipated a potential shift after a meeting on 29 December between U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The official said Syria regards Israel’s withdrawal from territory seized after Assad’s fall as a “red line”, adding that Damascus had been asked to consider a phased Israeli withdrawal.
“We will not legitimise an Israeli presence in Syria or in the Golan Heights,” the official said.
In previous rounds of U.S.-mediated talks in Paris and Washington, Syria pushed for an agreement modelled on the 1974 disengagement deal, which separated the two sides’ forces and maintained a ceasefire for decades, despite the absence of a formal peace agreement.
Syria’s leadership has also called for an end to Israeli air strikes and ground incursions.
Israel has said it would only agree to a deal that protects its security interests, including the demilitarisation of parts of southwestern Syria and guarantees for minority communities. It has yet to publicly commit to a full withdrawal to positions held before 2024.
Gen Z protests swept 34 German cities on Saturday (31 October) over education, living costs and military service proposals. Violence erupted in Fra...
Iran designated Britain's Royal Navy and Royal Air Force as terrorist organisations on Sunday, (1 November), and classified the country's f...
Since 2021, only 9 per cent of $8 billion in humanitarian aid for Afghanistan can be traced beyond initial recipients in public re...
The U.S. has approved the sale of 500 Patriot PAC-3 missiles to Ukraine in a deal worth an estimated $2.1 billion, but Kyiv could face years of delays before receiving the weapons it urgently needs to defend against intensifying Russian attacks.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has ordered Iran's armed forces to respond to any threat immediately and without geographical limits in statements posted to social media platforms on Saturday (31 October).
Demonstrators carrying Iranian flags and placards supporting the hijab gathered outside the Azerbaijani Embassy in London.
A Chinese-made AI chip has matched Nvidia’s H200 in tests conducted by its developer, marking a potential breakthrough in China’s efforts to reduce its dependence on foreign technology.
A hacking group linked to North Korea is widely believed to be behind the theft of $6.3 billion from cryptocurrency giant Binance, a cyberattack that experts describe as the largest cryptocurrency heist on record.
Gen Z protests swept 34 German cities on Saturday (31 October) over education, living costs and military service proposals. Violence erupted in Frankfurt, where shops were looted and police reported Molotov cocktail attacks.
Iran designated Britain's Royal Navy and Royal Air Force as terrorist organisations on Sunday, (1 November), and classified the country's foreign intelligence agency, MI6, as a hostile group, according to a statement from the Iranian Foreign Ministry.
Thousands protested in Albania's capital, Tirana, on Saturday (31 October), demanding Prime Minister Edi Rama's resignation over perceived corruption allegations and dissatisfaction with the government over a lack of jobs and poor education standards.
Russia has agreed to work with Ghana on developing a 2,000-megawatt nuclear power plant following talks at the Russia-Africa Summit in Moscow, Ghanaian Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said on Saturday.
Foreign ministers from the U.S., Japan, Australia and India raised concerns over export restrictions and economic coercion at a Quad meeting in Atlanta, U.S., on Saturday, 31 October 2026, according to their joint statement.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment