Syria may sign a security agreement with Israel in the coming days, believes the country's interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa, who stressed that such a move does not mean normalization of relations with the Jewish state.
“An agreement with Israel may be signed in the coming days; it will be similar to the 1974 agreement“, the Lebanese television channel Al Mayadeen quoted al-Sharaa as saying. He added that “the agreement with Israel in no way means normalization of relations or Syria's accession to the Abraham Accords“.
On September 17, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Sheibani and Israeli Minister of Strategic Planning Ron Dermer held talks in London under the auspices of the United States. According to Syria TV, the parties discussed a new draft security agreement to replace the 1974 disengagement agreement between Israeli and Syrian forces in the Golan Heights. The meeting lasted five hours and was attended by US special envoy Tom Barak, who is mediating the negotiations.
According to the Lebanese newspaper “Al Nahar“, the Israeli side has prepared the draft document based on the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty signed in 1979. Israel is insisting on the creation of three demilitarized zones southwest of Damascus, with different security regimes depending on their distance from the Israeli border. Syria will be allowed to deploy police forces there, but air flights over these zones will be prohibited. Israel, for its part, will retain control of Mount Hermon (Jabal el-Sheikh), which its forces occupied in December 2024 after the change of power in Damascus.