Secret negotiations between Israeli and Syrian officials have been underway in recent days, including on the possibility of including the new Syrian regime in the Abraham Accords.
The revelation came just a day after US President Donald Trump urged Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa to join a normalization deal with Israel in exchange for the lifting of sanctions on the war-torn country.
The talks were brokered by the United Arab Emirates, which along with Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey have pressured the Trump administration to open a channel of communication with Syria’s new leadership.
The Negotiation in Azerbaijan and the Decisive Role of Donald Trump
One of the meetings reportedly took place in Azerbaijan, with Israel represented by the head of the army’s Operations Directorate, Lieutenant General Oded Basyuk. The same meeting was attended by representatives of the Syrian government, as well as Turkish officials.
Sharaa himself confirmed last week, during a visit to France, that negotiations through mediators were underway, although he described them as “security”.
Trump, for his part, had invited Sharaa on March 14 to join the Abraham Accords, at a historic meeting in Saudi Arabia, the first face-to-face contact between the leaders of the two countries in 25 years. Trump described Sharaa as a “strong” and “engaging” leader, telling reporters on Air Force One:
“I said to him, ‘I hope you’ll join the Abraham Accords when things get sorted out,’ and he said yes. But they have a lot of work ahead of them.”
Syria is definitively changing its sphere of influence
The Abraham Accords are bilateral agreements normalizing Israel’s relations with Arab states such as the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan, signed between 2020 and 2021 and essentially aim to normalize Israel’s actions in the Arab world by providing “incentives”.
Israel views Trump’s intention to lift sanctions on Syria positively, although it remains highly cautious, not ruling out the possibility of decisively influencing the formation of the northern borders and future relations with Sharaa.
Israel even considers Syria’s withdrawal from the so-called Shiite Resistance Axis led by Iran as possible, while not ruling out the country’s integration under American influence. If this is achieved, it is estimated that it could even trigger a positive turn in Israeli-Turkish relations.
Israel imposed its will on Syria by force of arms
It is recalled that Israel invaded the security zone around the Golan Heights – which Trump recognized as Israeli territory in 2019 – immediately after the collapse of the Assad regime last December.
Earlier this month, Israel escalated tensions again, launching a series of strikes in Syria, with one of them even hitting the wider area of the presidential palace in Damascus.
The strikes are seen as a direct message to Sharaa, in response to threats by his government against the Druze religious minority, which Israel has pledged to protect, citing historical ties to its own Druze community.
While Sharaa appears eager for peace, Israel is not expected to accept any deal that does not include Syria’s definitive renunciation of its internationally recognized claim to the Golan Heights. It is also believed to be seeking additional territory it recently seized, including the strategically important peak of Mount Hermon.
