Al-Shaibani: We have agreed with Israel on everything in writing, and it must seize the historic opportunity
Amid the Israeli-Turkish crisis, which was fueled by the bombing of the Abu al-Dhaher air base on the border in Idlib, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaybani predicted a resumption of negotiations with Israel soon regarding a security agreement that would lead to its withdrawal from territories it seized in the south following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime on December 8, 2024.
Al-Shaybani told Reuters yesterday that the door remains open for diplomacy, urging Israel to seize a “historic opportunity,” while emphasizing that Damascus’s priority is to halt Israeli attacks and take steps to build trust in this direction.
He said, “Negotiations were frozen after the Iran-Israel war, and we hope they will resume in the near future so we can complete this matter. We do not currently trust Israel, but we engage with it because there must be communication, especially with an entity that constantly threatens Syria’s security. However, if this communication yields no results, we do not want it at all.”
Confirming that communications were severed after the strike on Abu al-Dhaher air base, he clarified that Israel “has tried many times to secure its safety through brute force, but has not succeeded. The door is open; they will come to this matter, and I believe negotiations will resume soon.”
He revealed that “the United States is continuously trying to pressure Israel or push it toward returning to the negotiating table and reaching an agreement with Syria. However, it is very difficult to rely on Israel. Nevertheless, we have very high ambitions for Syria’s relationship with its neighborhood to be stable. Today, we extend our hand for understanding, peace, and diplomacy. We want a stable region.”
Al-Shaybani continued, “Israel asks that its security concerns be taken into account. We have no problem with that; we are aware of these concerns. But Israel must also respect Syria’s security concerns and respect its sovereignty,” pointing to Israel’s use of Syrian airspace, airstrikes, and arrest operations in the south.
Regarding the security agreement, he explained that around the beginning of the year, “we agreed on almost everything on paper. There were many points, the first being that Israel would not attack Syria and would not interfere in its internal affairs. However, it sought to evade the agreement, and we found no genuine motivation or will on its part to conclude it.”
He added, “Our current focus is stopping the aggression before anything else, even before a security agreement. Later, the issue of peace and the Golan Heights can be opened. For now, we have taken a step backward.”
In response to US envoy Thomas Barrack’s announcement on Tuesday that Washington is working to establish a mechanism to avoid clashes between Israel, Turkey, and Syria, al-Shaybani stated that no agreement had yet been reached on the mechanism. He added, “We do not want it to be a mechanism to cement the reality of Israeli occupation in new Syria. We want it to be a mechanism to stop aggressions and pave the way for a security agreement that culminates in Israel’s withdrawal from Syria.”
He further noted that Syria relies on Turkish support for military training and cooperation, a situation that also applies to Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and other countries.
In Israel, a security official claimed today that “Israel has no intention of turning Turkey into an enemy,” pointing to the existence of “secret channels between the two sides to convey messages and prevent friction.”
Speaking to Israel’s Kan Reshet Bet radio, the Israeli official said, “When messages fail, Israel is forced to act according to the red lines it has set regarding the entrenchment of the Turkish presence in Syria, particularly concerning the introduction of air defense systems, drones, and missiles that could ‘threaten the freedom of operation’ of the air force.”
Earlier, the Associated Press reported that Israeli officials informed the United States that Turkey was preparing to install a radar system at the Abu al-Dhaher base, and subsequently integrate it into air defense systems operated by Turkish soldiers. The officials claimed that this move would alter the regional balance of power.
