Newsletters
A Syrian-Israeli ministerial meeting is set to take place Thursday, July 31 in Baku to discuss security matters in southern Syria, a diplomat told AFP.
The talks between Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani and Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer follow a similar meeting held last week in Paris.
The meeting in Baku is scheduled after Shaibani’s unprecedented visit to Moscow on Thursday, the diplomat added, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue.
Russia was a key backer of former President Bashar al-Assad, who was overthrown in an Islamist-led offensive in December.
Israel and Syria remain technically at war since 1948.
The Baku meeting will focus on “the security situation, particularly in southern Syria,” the diplomat said.
The previous meeting in Paris centered on “recent security developments and attempts to contain the escalation in southern Syria,” according to Syrian state television.
That meeting followed deadly clashes in southern Syria’s Druze-majority Sweida province, where more than 1,400 people were killed, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The clashes initially erupted between local Druze fighters and Sunni Bedouin tribes, but later drew in Syrian government forces and Israel, with Israel saying it aimed to protect the Druze community.
In response, Israel struck the Syrian presidential palace and army headquarters in Damascus.
The United States, a close ally of Israel that has also expressed support for Syrian authorities, announced a cease-fire between the two sides overnight on July 18.
Prior to the Sweida violence, Syrian and Israeli officials had met in Baku on July 12.
Israel has occupied Syria’s Golan Heights since 1967, formally annexing the territory in 1981 in a move not recognized by the international community.
In 1974, the two countries signed a disengagement agreement, establishing a UN-patrolled buffer zone between Syria and the occupied Golan Heights.
Since Assad’s fall, Israel has deployed troops to the buffer zone and carried out hundreds of strikes across Syria.
Damascus has acknowledged holding indirect talks with Israel aimed at de-escalation.
The diplomat said Shaibani is also scheduled to visit Moscow on Thursday, where he will meet with Russian officials to discuss various matters, including the future of Russian military bases in Syria. Talks will focus on “the terms of the bases’ continued existence and operating rights.”
Moscow seeks to maintain its naval base in Tartus and airbase in Hmeimim.
Russia faced widespread criticism over its 2015 military intervention on Assad’s side in Syria’s civil war, conducting numerous airstrikes on rebel-held areas and bolstering government forces.
The new Islamist-led authorities in Damascus have not severed ties with Moscow. Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov met with Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus in January.
Shaibani’s talks in Moscow will also cover “supporting bilateral cooperation and revitalizing diplomatic and security relations,” as well as addressing “steps regarding internal security and foreign fighters,” according to the diplomat.
1 min read
3 min read
