DAMASCUS (Rueters) — Syria expects negotiations to resume soon with Israel over a security deal it hopes will lead to Israel’s withdrawal from Syrian land, the Syrian foreign minister said Saturday, urging Israel to seize a “historic opportunity” as the door for diplomacy is open.

In a Reuters interview in Damascus on Saturday, days after Israel bombed a Syrian airbase in the north, Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani also stressed that Damascus’ priority is to halt Israeli strikes, saying confidence-building steps were needed in this direction.

Washington has been seeking to forge a security deal between Israel and the government of Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, a new US ally in the Middle East, for over a year. But it has proven elusive as Israel has kept troops in Syrian territory and attacked government assets, citing threats to its security.

Shaibani said negotiations over the security agreement had been frozen since the start of the Iran war, but he expected them to restart. Contact between Syria and Israel was cut after the airbase strike, he added.

“We believe there should be contact, especially with a party that constantly threatens the security of Syria. But if this contact doesn’t bring results, then we don’t need it,” Shaibani said. “We do not trust Israel currently.”

In Israel, the Prime Minister’s Office did not respond to a request for comment on Shaibani’s statements.

‘It’s very hard to bet on Israel’

Sharaa has said Syria poses no threat to other countries, with Damascus focused on rebuilding from 14 years of civil war.

Israeli officials have talked about a range of potential dangers in Syria since Bashar al-Assad was toppled in late 2024, with some describing the new rulers as barely disguised jihadists last year, even as Sharaa forged........

© The Times of Israel