Israel, Syria to set up communication mechanism

BEIRUT/JERUSALEM - Israel and Syria agreed during US-mediated talks in Paris to set up a communication mechanism to coordinate on security, intelligence and commercial issues, the three countries said in a joint statement released on Tuesday by the State Department.

But in a statement to Reuters, a Syrian official said it would not be possible to move forward on "strategic files" in talks with Israel without a binding, clear timeline for Israeli troop withdrawal from Syrian territory seized after the late 2024 toppling of Bashar al-Assad.

The Syrian official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the latest round of talks with Israel in Paris, which took place on Monday and Tuesday, concluded with an initiative to suspend all Israeli military activities against Syria.

There was no immediate from Israel on whether it had agreed to suspend military activities in Syria. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said Israel had focused on security issues as well as Israel-Syria economic cooperation during the talks.

Syrian state media reported that the discussions in Paris were focused on reviving a 1974 disengagement agreement that established a UN-monitored buffer zone between Israel and Syria after the 1973 Middle East war.

Israeli troops advanced deeper across the border after Assad was toppled on December 8, 2024 by rebel fighters who assumed Syria's leadership. Israel has also intervened in what it calls missions to protect the Druze religious minority in southwestern Syria.

Syria is seeking an Israeli withdrawal to positions held before Assad was toppled, and wants a reciprocal security framework guaranteeing its sovereignty and preventing interference in its internal affairs.

The State Department statement said that the two countries would use the communication mechanism "to facilitate immediate and ongoing coordination on their intelligence sharing, military de-escalation, diplomatic engagement, and commercial opportunities" under US supervision.

The Syrian official accused Israel of stalling by using technicalities in the talks, and said it should abandon its "expansionist mentality" so that the talks could proceed.