Syria Ready to Cooperate with US to Reimplement 1974 Disengagement Deal with Israel
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shaibani said on Friday that Syria was ready to cooperate with the US in order to reimplement the 1974 disengagement agreement with Israel, according to Al Arabiya.
Return to Disengagement Deal
Al-Shaibani’s statement comes after a phone call with his American Counterpart Marco Rubio.
During the call, Al-Shaibani expressed Syria’s “aspiration to cooperate with the United States to return to the 1974 disengagement agreement.”
In May, US President Donald Trump met Syria’s Interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia and urged him to normalize ties with Israel.
Aspiration for Diplomatic Ties
On Monday, Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said that his country is “interested” in establishing diplomatic ties with its neighbors Lebanon and Syria, according to Reuters. “Israel is interested in expanding the Abraham Accord circle of peace and normalization,” Saar said at a news conference.
Crucially, Al-Sharaa confirmed indirect talks with Israel to reduce tensions. Moreover, Al-Sharaa has repeatedly said Damascus does not seek involvement into any conflict with its neighbors. Therefore, he urged the international community to press on Israel to halt its attacks on Syria.
Golan Heights Will Be out of Discussion
Meanwhile, Saar stressed that the occupied Golan Heights “will remain part of Israel” under any possible peace agreement with Syria. “In any peace agreement, the Golan will remain part of the State of Israel,” Saar stated. In 1981, Israel annexed the Golan Heights after taking over most of the area from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War.
On Wednesday, Syrian state media described the statements about normalizing relations with Israel as “premature”, after an Israeli official welcomed diplomatic ties with Damascus, according to AFP.
“Statements concerning signing a peace agreement with the Israeli occupation at this time are considered premature,” state TV reported an unidentified official source as saying.
The source also said that the possibility of negotiations over a new peace deal was not possible until Israel fully adhered to the 1974 disengagement agreement and withdrew from the areas it has penetrated.
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