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Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said Monday that any final peace agreement between Syria and Israel must include Israel’s withdrawal to its pre-Dec. 8 borders, noting that the United States and several international actors support Syria’s position.
In an interview with The Washington Post, Sharaa said Damascus and Tel Aviv are engaged in “direct negotiations” and have “gone a good distance” toward reaching an agreement.
“But to reach a final agreement, Israel should withdraw to their pre-Dec. 8 borders,” he said.
The Syrian leader stated that Washington and other international partners back Syria’s stance on the issue.
He added that US President Donald Trump “supports our perspective as well, and he will push as quickly as possible to reach a solution.”
Sharaa accused Israel of pursuing “expansionist ambitions,” saying it had carried out over 1,000 airstrikes on Syrian territory since Dec. 8, when former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad fled to Russia, ending the Baath Party’s rule that began in 1963.
“Because we want to rebuild Syria, we didn’t respond to these aggressions,” he said.
Sharaa’s remarks followed his historic meeting with Trump at the White House on Monday, marking the first visit by a Syrian leader to Washington since Syria’s independence nearly 80 years ago.
The visit represented a major shift in relations as Damascus seeks the full lifting of Caesar sanctions imposed in 2019 in response to the Assad regime’s atrocities.
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