Syria pursues multinational security pact with Israel while defending Golan claim

Diplomacy with Israel

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said Damascus is negotiating a security arrangement with Israel that would involve multiple countries and could serve as a stepping stone toward a broader peace. He insisted any deal would not forfeit Syria’s claim to the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and portrayed the agreement as a means to avoid direct clashes after repeated Israeli strikes in southern Syria since he took office in December 2024.

Regional and domestic priorities

Al-Sharaa rejected rumours of a Syrian military intervention in Lebanon, saying Damascus instead seeks to support Lebanese institutions in resolving their crisis and backs efforts to return occupied southern Lebanese areas to state control and to limit weapons to the Lebanese state. He warned that chaos in Lebanon or a wider US–Israel confrontation with Iran would have immediate regional consequences. Domestically he argued that sanctions relief must include removal from the US list of state sponsors of terrorism, acknowledged delays in implementing an internal deal with the Kurdish-led SDF but reaffirmed commitment to it, and announced a committee—working to international standards and with foreign expertise—to address the fate of those missing during Syria’s war, which estimates put between about 100,000 and as many as 300,000 people missing as reported by Al Jazeera

This story has also been reported by: Jerusalem Post