Syria’s Sharaa seeks security deal with 'Israel' but rules out recognition

Syria’s President, Ahmed al-Sharaa, expressed cautious optimism on Monday about reaching a security arrangement with 'Israel' but dismissed the possibility of normalizing relations.

His remarks came during his visit to New York for the UN General Assembly, where he is scheduled to meet US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and deliver Syria’s first address to the body in decades.

Sharaa said his government is aiming to finalize security and military agreements with 'Israel' before the end of the year. He argued that such a deal could ease regional tensions while safeguarding Syrian sovereignty.

“I hope that that will lead us to an agreement that will keep the sovereignty of Syria and also resolve some of the security fears of Israel,” Sharaa told participants at the Concordia summit in New York, a sideline event to the UN meetings.

But when asked if Syria would join the Abraham Accords, through which the UAE, Bahrain, and Morocco normalized ties with 'Israel', Sharaa was firm in his rejection.

“Syria is different as those that are part of the Abraham Accords are not Israel’s neighbors. Syria has been subjected to more than 1,000 Israeli raids, strikes and incursions from the Golan Heights into Syria,” he said.

The Syrian leader voiced deep mistrust of 'Israel', accusing it of violating previous peace deals with Egypt and Jordan and raising concerns over possible territorial ambitions inside Syria. “There is also huge anger over what’s going on in Gaza, not only in Syria but in the entire world, and of course this impacts our position on Israel,” he added.

His comments came a day after 'Israeli' Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested that a “new window of possibility” had opened for peace with both Syria and Lebanon, following an 'Israeli' military campaign that dealt a heavy blow to Hezbollah, a longtime ally of Assad.

Sharaa has also taken steps to repair ties with Washington. In May, he met US President Donald Trump in Riyadh. Trump, encouraged by Saudi Arabia and Turkey, agreed to suspend sanctions imposed under Assad, despite concerns raised by 'Israel'.

Sharaa praised the move and urged the US Congress to go further. The sanctions, he said, “put a burden on people who have already suffered from the former regime's oppression.”