FM al-Shaibani reports US-mediated talks aim for full Israeli withdrawal to pre-December 2024 lines, pans Katz’s remarks on IDF remaining in Syrian territory
Syria’s interim foreign minister Asaad Shaibani (L) delivers a speech during the inauguration of Syria’s embassy at Al-Nofleen district in Tripoli on August 30, 2026. (Mahmud Turkia/AFP)
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said Tuesday that his country was working toward a “diplomatic solution” with Israel, with US mediation, despite ongoing Israeli strikes in the country.
The two countries have been in a constant state of war since the establishment of Israel in 1948.
Israel has launched numerous strikes in Syria since the current Islamist authorities’ forces ousted longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, often saying they are necessary to stop military hardware falling into the hands of hostile elements amid the regime change. The latest came last month, when the Israeli Air Force struck a disused Syrian military airport, saying Turkey was planning to deploy forces there and Damascus had ignored Jerusalem’s warnings on the matter. Ankara denied the Israeli allegations.Promoted: Sheba saved Shon’s lifeKeep Watching
In addition, Israel has sent troops into a UN-patrolled buffer zone that had separated Israeli and Syrian forces on the Golan Heights since 1974. Israel has also carried out repeated incursions deeper into Syrian territory and has vowed to keep troops in a “security zone” in southern Syria, where it seeks a broader demilitarized area.
“The attacks are still ongoing. We observed 65 incursions in July alone, and 52 in the first 18 days of August,” Shaibani told a press conference with his visiting Danish counterpart, Lars Lokke Rasmussen.
He slammed a “campaign of raids on homes in Quneitra province and the Damascus countryside,” and said Syria has registered 147 cases of Israeli troops detaining Syrians so far this year, with “49 of them still detained.”
Israel argues such operations are necessary to defend its border amid the unrest and lawlessness brought about by the regime change.
“Despite these challenges, we are still committed to the option of a diplomatic solution, and we are working seriously to achieve this,” Shaibani said, adding: “We are engaged in negotiations mediated by the United States of America.”
Israel and Syria have held several rounds of direct talks, most recently last week in Jordan, where Mossad chief Roman Gofman and Shaibani held a meeting to defuse tensions between the countries, Syrian state media reported. The US administration reportedly pushed for the meeting.
Hours before the meeting was reported, al-Shaibani said in an interview with the Reuters news agency that Syria expected negotiations with Israel to resume soon, urging Israel to seize a “historic opportunity” as the door for diplomacy is open.
Israel and Syria held direct talks last year aimed at reaching a groundbreaking security agreement that ultimately failed to materialize.
Then, after January negotiations in Paris, the sides agreed to establish an intelligence-sharing mechanism as they edge toward such a security agreement.
Shaibani told Tuesday’s press conference that statements from Israeli officials expressing their intention to keep forces in Jabal al-Sheikh, or Mount Hermon, are “an explicit declaration on consolidating the occupation” and that they invalidate “any flimsy security pretexts.”
He said the talks aim to “stop the attacks and arrests” and secure an Israeli withdrawal to pre-December 2024 positions, “with a full return to adherence to the 1974 disengagement agreement.”
Last week, Defense Minister Israel Katz visited troops in southern Syria, reiterating a pledge to keep forces in the area as long as there are “threats” to the country’s security.
In June, Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa said in an interview that his country was working toward a security agreement with Israel, which he said could eventually pave the way for comprehensive peace between the two neighbors.
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