Senior Israeli and Syrian officials hold U.S.-brokered talks on de-escalation
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) is joined by Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer and other officials in Arlington, Virginia, earlier this month. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Senior Israeli and Syrian ministers met in Paris for four hours on Thursday under the auspices of President Trump's special envoy Tom Barrack and discussed de-escalation of tensions between the countries.
Why it matters: The meeting that was brokered by the Trump administration was the most high-level official engagement between Israel and Syria in more than 25 years.
- It was the first meeting between the parties since the crisis erupted last week in the city of Suwayda in southern Syria last week and the Israeli strikes on Damascus that followed.
Flashback: The last time a meeting on such high-level took place was in 2000 when president Clinton hosted then-Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and then-Syrian Foreign Minister Farouq al-Sharaa at Shepherdstown as part of an effort to reach a peace deal between the countries.
Driving the news: The meeting in Paris was attended from the Israeli side by the minister for strategic affairs and Netanyahu's confidant Ron Dermer and from the Syrian side foreign minister Assad al-Sheibani, two Israeli officials said.
- The goal of the summit was to reach security understandings regarding southern Syria in order to maintain the ceasefire between Israel and Syria and prevent a crisis like the one last week, Israeli officials said.
- "I met this evening with the Syrians and Israelis in Paris. Our goal was dialogue and de-escalation, and we accomplished precisely that. All parties reiterated their commitment to continuing these efforts," Barrack wrote on X.
- The Israeli government hopes that beyond the issue of security arrangements on the border, the summit in France "will lead to more Syrian willingness to move forward with Israel on diplomatic steps as well," a senior Israeli official said.
Behind the scenes: This semi-public meeting in Paris followed numerous secret meetings between Israeli and Syrian officials over the past several months.
- After the collapse of the Assad regime, Israel and the Turkish government that backed the new Syrian authorities held talks on military deconfliction is Syria and established a hotline between the Israel Defense Forces and the Turkish military to prevent clashes in Syrian airspace, Israeli officials said.
- During these talks the head of Turkish intelligence Ibrahim Kalin proposed to the Israeli national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi to invite Syrian officials to join the meetings.
- The Israelis agreed and Hanegbi met several time with the Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani in Baku, Israeli officials said.
- In recent weeks, as Trump's envoy Barrack became more involved in the efforts to reach an Israeli-Syrian security agreement that would be a first step toward normalization, the decision was made that Dermer would join the talks.
- Israeli officials say Dermer is in charge of the Netanyahu Government's engagement with the White House. The conclusion in Israel was that in order for the Syrians to move toward normalization there would have to be U.S. incentives and Dermer was tasked with developing them.
- After the crisis in Sweida last week, Barrack decided it was a good time to hold a trilateral meeting with Dermer and Sheibani.
What's next: Israeli and U.S. officials say the meeting in Paris was a first step and stress confidence-building measures from both sides are needed in order to move forward.
