Syria and Israel held high-level, US-mediated talks in Jordan on Sunday, aimed at easing tensions after recent Israeli strikes on Syrian territory (Geo News).
Syria’s state news agency Sana reported the meeting, citing a diplomatic source at the foreign ministry.
What was discussed
The talks focused on practical mechanisms to halt Israeli strikes, arrests and targeted operations, and on reviving negotiations towards a security agreement that could form the basis of a broader accord.
The two sides also discussed easing tensions between Israel and Turkey, and preventing that rivalry from spilling onto Syrian territory — an acknowledgement that Syria has become the ground on which two other powers conduct a dispute.
Why talks had stopped
Negotiations had been suspended since the start of the Iran war in February.
Syria then cut off contact entirely after Israeli strikes on the Abu al-Duhur airbase last week, according to Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani.
Shaibani told Reuters on Saturday that Damascus expected security negotiations to resume soon, while adding that there was a lack of trust between the two sides.
The American effort
Washington has spent more than a year trying to broker a security agreement between Syria and Israel.
That it has taken this long, and that a single round of strikes was enough to suspend contact entirely, indicates how little has actually been settled — the parties are negotiating about mechanisms to stop strikes rather than about any wider settlement.
Pakistan’s connection
Shaibani was in Islamabad on August 20, meeting Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at the invitation of Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar.
Pakistan reaffirmed support for Syria’s sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity, backed Damascus on the Golan Heights, and pressed for the resumption of direct flights for pilgrims. Islamabad condemned the Abu al-Duhur strike.
