Israel is close to concluding a de-escalation agreement with Syria, said US special envoy for Syria Tom Barak, quoted by Al Jazeera, reports News.bg.
According to him, the pact will allow Israel to cease attacks on Syria, while the Syrian side commits not to move machinery or heavy equipment near the Israeli border.
Barak noted that the negotiations are being conducted in good faith and were initially planned to end this week, but the process was delayed due to the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah. He said the agreement would be a first step towards a broader security agreement.
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa expressed hope for such an agreement and stressed that Syria had not caused problems for Israel. "We are afraid of Israel, not the other way around" he said. Al-Sharaa pointed out that there were risks of delaying the negotiations and Israel insisting on violations of Syrian airspace and incursions into its territory. According to him, pressure on Jordan and possible talks to partition Syria would harm Iraq and Turkey, returning the countries to square one.
Israel and Syria have been in hostile relations for decades, with tensions escalating during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War and Israel's occupation of the Golan Heights.
Since Bashar al-Assad came to power, Israel has hindered Syria's attempts at stabilization, violating the 1974 ceasefire agreement, striking Syrian military targets and deploying troops about 20 km from Damascus.