Syria says the door to negotiations with Israel is still open—even after a new round of Israeli strikes pushed the two countries deeper into confrontation.
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani told Reuters that he expects security talks to resume soon, despite what he described as profound mistrust and Israel’s recent bombing of the Abu al-Duhur airbase in northwestern Syria.
The statement creates a striking contrast: military action is continuing, but diplomacy has not been abandoned.
What Syria wants from the talks
According to Shaibani, Damascus wants an agreement that stops Israeli military operations in Syria and produces a gradual Israeli withdrawal from territory seized after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government in December 2024.
The proposed framework reportedly includes several security zones near the border. A buffer zone would be monitored by the United Nations, while Syrian forces would be permitted to deploy at different levels in other areas.
Shaibani said Syria’s immediate priority is ending Israeli attacks. Broader questions—including the future of the Golan Heights—would be more difficult and would come later.
Syria and Israel technically remain at war. Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in 1967 and later annexed it, a step that most of the international community does not recognize.
Why negotiations stopped
Washington has spent more than a year trying to broker a security arrangement between Israel and the government of Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa. Reuters reported that negotiators had developed a draft agreement before talks stalled amid the Iran war and renewed regional hostilities.
The diplomatic effort became even more complicated after Israel struck the Abu al-Duhur airbase on August 18. Syria and Turkey condemned the attack, while Israel said it acted because of concerns that Turkey was preparing to expand its military presence at the facility.
Syria and Turkey denied that a Turkish base was about to be established there.
The United States says it received no warning
U.S. special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack said Israel did not warn Washington before the airbase strike, according to the Associated Press. That was notable because Israel normally coordinates closely with the United States, its most important military backer.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz disputed Barrack’s account. Katz said intelligence had been shared with U.S. officials and that warnings were communicated to Syria.
Barrack has also said the United States is working on a formal communication mechanism involving Israel, Syria and Turkey to reduce the risk that a misunderstanding triggers a wider conflict. Reuters reported that the proposed channel remains unfinished.
Violence continued after the airbase strike
Tensions did not ease after Abu al-Duhur. Israel carried out another strike near Beit Jinn in southern Syria on August 22, saying it targeted a person who posed an immediate threat to Israeli soldiers. Syrian officials said the strike hit a civilian vehicle and injured at least one person.
Damascus condemned that attack as a violation of Syrian sovereignty, while Israel described it as a defensive operation. The competing accounts illustrate why confidence between the two sides remains so low.
A possible opening—but no agreement yet
There is no announced date for negotiations to restart, and Israel has not publicly accepted Syria’s proposed terms. The most significant development is that Damascus is still signaling willingness to negotiate despite the attacks.
If talks resume, the first test will be whether both sides can agree on practical steps to stop further strikes and establish reliable communication. Without that, the diplomatic opening could close as quickly as it appeared.
