Israeli and Syrian ministers held their first high-level talks in 25 years. The meeting was held in Paris under the mediation of US Special Representative for the Middle East Tom Barak, Axios reported.
According to the portal, the talks were attended by Israeli Minister of Strategic Planning Ron Dermer and the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the transitional Syrian government, Asaad al-Sheibani. The meeting lasted four hours, and its main topic was reducing tensions between the countries. The parties expressed their intentions to agree on security in southern Syria and a ceasefire, Israeli sources told Axios.
It is noted that Israel and Syria have already held several meetings in recent months. The Paris talks will be the first step in strengthening trust between the parties, the portal claims.
On July 16, the Israeli Air Force attacked strategic targets in and around Damascus, including the Syrian Army General Staff complex and the presidential palace in the Abu Rummana neighborhood.
On July 17, airstrikes were carried out against the 132nd Motorized Rifle Brigade base in Bzamil and the 107th Armored Brigade base in Jableh in the northwestern part of the country.
On July 23, Israeli Air Force fighter jets hit Syrian military warehouses in the central province of Homs.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned that Israel would continue to strike Syria unless government troops withdrew from the city of As-Suwayda and the surrounding areas in the southern part of the country, where the Druze predominate. Advertisement
On July 19, Syrian interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa announced the introduction of a ceasefire in the entire southern province in accordance with a peace plan developed with the participation of international mediators.