Syria denies reports of security deal with 'Israel'

Syria’s Foreign Ministry on Saturday firmly denied reports that it is preparing to sign a security agreement with 'Israel' under US mediation on September 25.

The denial came after regional news outlets reported, citing “senior Syrian sources,” that such a deal was imminent. In a statement to Syrian TV, the ministry’s media coordination office said the reports were “false” and that no agreement was being negotiated.

The denial contrasts with official Syrian state media, which confirmed earlier this week that Foreign Minister Assad al-Shibani held talks in Paris with an 'Israeli' delegation, under US sponsorship, to discuss de-escalation, stability in southern Syria, and the monitoring of a ceasefire in Sweida province.

The Paris meeting follows a series of unprecedented diplomatic contacts in recent weeks, including a July encounter between al-Shibani and Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer in Paris, as well as reported meetings in Baku, Azerbaijan.

These diplomatic moves come in the aftermath of deadly violence in Sweida in mid-July, which left more than 1,600 people dead, most of them Druze, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The bloodshed, coinciding with the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, prompted 'Israeli' strikes near Damascus before the US mediated a July 19 ceasefire between Syria and 'Israel'.

Despite Saturday’s denial, the rapid pace of US-brokered talks has raised questions about the trajectory of relations between Damascus and Tel Aviv.