Syria and Israel: A rare meeting in Paris discusses de-escalation in the south.

Arab Sea Newspaper - News Updates

Arab Sea - France - Follow-ups: The official Syrian news agency announced that Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani met on Tuesday evening with an Israeli delegation in the French capital, Paris, in a meeting described as the highest level between the two sides in more than 25 years, and came through direct mediation from the United States. The agency stated that the talks focused on files related to "de-escalation in southern Syria, ensuring non-interference in internal affairs, and reactivating the disengagement agreement signed in 1974," which recently collapsed after Israeli incursions into the buffer zone in the Golan. The discussions also addressed security arrangements on the Syrian-Israeli border and monitoring the ceasefire in the Suwayda Governorate, which witnessed deadly clashes last month followed by Israeli airstrikes. Diplomatic sources confirmed that the meeting brought together al-Shibani and Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer, in the presence of the US Special Envoy to Syria, Tom Brack, while the identity of the rest of the Israeli delegation was not disclosed. This is the second announced meeting between Damascus and Tel Aviv in Paris in less than a month, after a first meeting last July that did not lead to a final agreement. Observers believe that the step comes within the framework of American efforts to reopen communication channels between Syria and Israel, and to distance Damascus from the Iranian-Russian axis, while the new Syrian regime seeks to obtain international recognition and alleviate economic and political pressures.