Syrian and Israeli officials held talks on Sunday aimed at putting a stop to recent strikes and de-escalating tensions, Syrian state news agency SANA reported, citing a diplomatic source.
The talks were mediated by the United States and took place in the capital of Jordan, Amman.
The Syrian delegation was headed by Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani and included the heads of the general intelligence and military intelligence services, the source said.
“The meeting was held as part of efforts to de-escalate tensions following Israel’s recent strikes on Syrian territory and the rising tensions in southern Syria, and to support stability in Syria and the region,” the source said.
The meeting comes after several days of heightened Israeli military activity against Syria, including an Israeli strike on Abu al-Duhur airport, Israeli forces making incursions into southern Syria and an Israeli drone strike on a civilian vehicle in the town of Beit Jinn on Saturday.
On Tuesday, Syrian authorities said the Israeli military bombed a military airfield in north-western Syria near the Turkish border.
The Syrian Foreign Ministry and Turkey, which has close ties to the leadership in Damascus, condemned the attacks as a violation of Syria’s sovereignty.
Following the overthrow of Syria’s long-time ruler Bashar al-Assad at the end of 2024, the Israeli army has significantly expanded its operations in southern Syria and deployed troops to a UN-controlled demilitarized buffer zone between the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and Syria.
The diplomatic source told SANA that Syria reiterated its position that the occupied Golan Heights are Syrian territory, while noting that discussing its final status and the process leading to a settlement remained premature at this stage.
The immediate priority, it said, is the withdrawal of Israeli forces to the lines that existed before the change of power in Syria.