Syria says ready to work with US to return to 1974 disengagement deal with “Israel”

Syrian foreign minister Asaad al-Shaibani said on Friday that Damascus was willing to cooperate with Washington to reimplement the 1974 disengagement agreement with “Israel”.

In a statement following a phone call with his American counterpart Marco Rubio, Shaibani said he expressed Syria's "aspiration to cooperate with the United States to return to the 1974 disengagement agreement".

Syria and “Israel” have technically been in a state of war since 1948.

The 1974 Disengagement Agreement

The "Agreement on Disengagement" between “Israeli” and Syrian forces was signed on May 31, 1974, in Geneva, Switzerland. It formally ended the active hostilities on the Syrian front of the Yom Kippur War (also known as the October War or 1973 Arab-“Israeli” War).

The agreement was heavily brokered by then-US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who engaged in extensive "shuttle diplomacy" between Damascus and Jerusalem.

The agreement established a demilitarized zone (DMZ) in the Golan Heights, supervised by the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF).

It also outlined a specific disengagement line, troop limitations on both sides of the DMZ, and a commitment to observe a ceasefire.

The agreement notably included a clause stating that it was not a peace treaty but a step towards a peaceful settlement.

Success of UNDOF

For decades, UNDOF has largely succeeded in maintaining the ceasefire and preventing direct military confrontation between “Israeli” and Syrian forces in the Golan.

The Golan Heights holds immense strategic importance due to its elevation, providing a commanding view over the surrounding areas, including Damascus. It also has significant water resources.