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Syrian President Ahmad Al-Sharaa said on Friday that his government remains committed to the 1974 Disengagement Agreement with Israel and confirmed that negotiations are underway for a new security arrangement aimed at restoring Israel’s positions on the Golan Heights to the status before December 8.
In a statement broadcast on state television channel Al-Ikhbariyya, Al-Sharaa said Syria had sent a formal letter to the United Nations requesting the return of the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) to its previous status in the area.
He added that Damascus was seeking to ensure the full restoration of the agreement’s conditions through dialogue with international actors.
Al-Sharaa stated that Israel considered Syria to have abandoned the 1974 disengagement deal after Assad’s fall, but insisted that Syria had declared its commitment "from the first moment."
Since Assad’s overthrow, Israel has launched hundreds of airstrikes on targets in Syria and carried out incursions deeper into the south, to which Syria’s new authorities have not responded.
Last month, Syrian state media reported that Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani and Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer held talks in Paris on de-escalation and on the situation in Druze-majority Sweida province after deadly sectarian clashes. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also acknowledged that Israel was holding talks aimed at the demilitarisation of southern Syria.
Al-Sharaa described Syria as being in a period of political transition. He noted that after elections, a new constitution would be drafted to address multiple issues, though he emphasized that his government’s current policy is to work simultaneously across all areas of governance.
Addressing domestic affairs, Al-Sharaa said that the terrorist group SDF, did not represent all Kurdish components in Syria. He acknowledged that negotiations with the SDF had progressed positively at times, but claimed that delays or obstacles had hindered the implementation of agreements.
Israel has occupied the Golan Heights since the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. The 1974 Disengagement Agreement, signed on May 31, 1974, under UN auspices with the participation of the United States and the former Soviet Union, established a buffer zone and defined demilitarized areas between Israeli and Syrian forces.
The accord required both sides to cease military actions immediately and respect the ceasefire on land, sea, and air.
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