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Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Monday ruled out any immediate normalization talks with Israel, citing the continued occupation of the Golan Heights, even as U.S. President Donald Trump pushes to revive the Abraham Accords.
In an interview with Fox News, Sharaa said conditions facing Damascus were distinct from those of other countries that signed the normalization deals with Israel during Trump’s first term.
“I believe that the situation in Syria is different from the situation of the countries who signed on to the Abraham Accords,” Sharaa said in translated remarks.
“Syria has borders with Israel, and Israel occupies the Golan Heights since 1967. We are not going to enter into negotiation directly right now. Maybe the United States administration with President Trump will help us reach this kind of negotiation,” he added.
Israel expanded its control over the Golan Heights in 2024 following the fall of the Bashar Assad regime. Damascus has repeatedly demanded a full Israeli withdrawal as a condition for any talks.
The Abraham Accords, spearheaded by Trump, established diplomatic ties between Israel and several Muslim-majority countries. Four nations—the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco—joined the accords during Trump’s first term. Kazakhstan became the fifth to sign on last week.
Trump has previously voiced confidence that both Syria and Saudi Arabia would eventually join the normalization framework.
Sharaa met with Trump on Monday at the White House in what he described as a “warm, candid, and forward-looking” meeting that lasted over an hour.
It marked the first visit by a Syrian head of state to the White House since the country gained independence nearly 80 years ago.
Shortly after the meeting, Trump posted on his Truth Social platform: “It was an Honor to spend time with Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa, the new President of Syria … I look forward to meeting and speaking again.”
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The U.S. president said the pair discussed “all the intricacies of peace in the Middle East, of which he is a major advocate.”
“Everyone is talking about the Great Miracle that is taking place in the Middle East. Having a stable and successful Syria is very important to all countries in the Region,” Trump added.
Asked during the Fox News interview whether Syria could join the global coalition against Daesh, Sharaa said there are valid reasons for a U.S. military presence in his country but emphasized the need for coordination with Damascus.
“We need to discuss these matters, and we need to talk about and get into an agreement about ISIS,” he said.
Sharaa did not provide further details on what a framework for such cooperation might look like.
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