US-brokered talks between Syria and Israel take place in Jordan
Syria's top diplomat and an Israeli delegation, led by the Mossad chief, held talks in Jordan mediated by the United States. The discussions focused on stopping Israeli military actions and reviving security negotiations. The meeting came after an Israeli attack on a Syrian airbase that also strained Israel-Turkey relations.
The meeting marked a rare direct contact between the two governments, with Syria's foreign minister sitting across from Mossad chief Roman Gofman in Amman. Previous US-mediated rounds had produced a joint intelligence-sharing mechanism, but those talks stalled in late February. This session aimed to restart that framework while addressing the fallout from Israel's strike on Abu Duhur airbase, which both Damascus and Ankara say was a false pretext for escalation.
Syria's stated priorities remain unchanged: an Israeli pullback to pre-December 2024 positions and full restoration of the 1974 disengagement agreement. Israel, meanwhile, entered with conditions attached, including keeping the Golan buffer zone demilitarized, barring Turkish military presence in Syria, and limiting Syrian weapons acquisitions. Any Israeli territorial withdrawal would hinge on diplomatic gains, according to Israeli media reports.
These talks could reshape regional security dynamics if they produce a lasting framework, potentially reducing the frequency of Israeli strikes that have killed and displaced civilians across Syria. A de-escalation agreement may also ease the Israel-Turkiye rivalry that has increasingly played out on Syrian soil. However, the wide gap between Syria's sovereignty demands and Israel's security conditions suggests any breakthrough remains fragile, leaving local populations exposed to continued volatility.