Al-Sharaa: Syria in direct talks with Israel but no deal until 1974 borders restored

Syria’s president confirms his country is holding direct negotiations with Israel but criticizes Israeli interventions and demands IDF withdraw back to 1974 lines.

By World Israel News Staff

Syria is currently engaged in direct negotiations with Israel as the two countries seek a new security agreement, Syria’s president said in an interview published Tuesday.

A day after Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa met with President Donald Trump at the White House, The Washington Post published an interview with the former jihadist during which al-Sharaa confirmed that his government has been speaking directly with Israel.

However, al-Sharaa emphasized that no deal can be reached until Israeli forces withdraw from the demilitarized zone and return to the boundaries established by the 1974 Separation of Forces agreement.

“We are engaged in direct negotiations with Israel, and we have gone a good distance on the way to reach an agreement,” al-Sharaa said. “But to reach a final agreement, Israel should withdraw to its pre-Dec. 8 borders.”

“Syria got into war with Israel 50 years ago. Then, in 1974, there was a disengagement agreement,” the Syrian president continued.

“This agreement lasted for 50 years. But when the regime fell, Israel revoked this agreement. They expanded their presence in Syria, expelled the UN mission and occupied new territory.”

Al-Sharaa dismissed Israeli security concerns, rejecting Jerusalem’s claims that it deployed forces to the demilitarized zone and carried out numerous military operations across southern Syria to prevent the entry of pro-Iranian forces, including Hezbollah.

“Israel has always claimed to fear threats from Iranian militias and Hezbollah, but we are the ones who expelled those forces from Syria,” al-Sharaa said.

Israel has bombed Syria more than 1,000 times since the fall of the Assad regime, he added, claiming his government has refrained from responding because it is “focused on rebuilding Syria.”

Immediately following the collapse of the Assad regime last December, the IDF struck numerous military targets across the country in a bid to prevent the Syrian military’s arsenal from falling into the hands of either pro-Iranian or radical Sunni militias.

The IDF also intervened in southern Syria on behalf of the country’s Druze minority following attacks by Sunni militias and pro-regime forces.

In recent months, Israel and Syria have been engaged in talks, supported by the Trump administration, aimed at establishing a new security agreement. Israel has reportedly requested the right to use an air corridor over Syria, enabling Israeli warplanes to reach Iran, in exchange for withdrawals from Syrian territory.

In addition, Israel has sought the establishment of an expanded demilitarized zone on the Israeli-Syrian frontier and limits on Syrian deployments in Druze-majority areas.