Syria and Israel towards normalization: What happened at the Paris meeting?

Syrian and Israeli officials held a four -hour meeting, mediated by the American envoy to Syria, Thomas Barak, in an attempt to reach security understandings on southern Syria.

The American “Axius” news network reported that this meeting, which was mediated by the administration of US President Donald TrumpThe highest level of official interaction between Israel and Syria has been for more than 25 years.
This is the first known meeting between the two sides since the crisis that broke out last week in the city of As -Suwayda and the subsequent Israeli air strikes on Damascus.
According to “Axius”, the meeting was attended by Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al -Shaibani and Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs, Ron Dermer.
Israeli officials told the platform that the summit aimed to reach a joint understanding of southern Syria to maintain the ceasefire between the two countries and avoid the repetition of the crisis last week.

This meeting is the highest level of official communication since former US President Bill Clinton held talks in the town of Sheberdsown, West Virginia in 2000, between the then Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk Al -Shara.
An Israeli official told “Axios” that Tel Aviv hopes that this meeting will enhance Syria’s willingness to take additional diplomatic steps, as well as security coordination.
According to the report, the semi -public meeting in Paris came after months of secret talks, some of which took place by Turkish mediation.
After the fall of the Assad regime, Israel opened communication channels with the new Syrian authorities through Türkiye, and established a direct military line to avoid air clashes in Syrian airspace.

Israeli officials said that Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim said to the Israeli National Security Adviser, Tasahi, Henghabi, to involve Syrian officials in the negotiations. Based on this proposal, Hengabi held several meetings with Minister Al -Shaibani in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan.
With Barak’s involvement in the efforts to reach security understandings during the past weeks, the Israeli leadership decided to involve Minister Dermer in the talks because of his role in coordination with the White House, according to “Axios”.
Israeli sources indicated to the platform that the Israeli government concluded that the American incentives would be necessary to encourage Damascus to engage in the path of normalization, and tasked with Dermer this task.
In the wake of the recent Suwayda crisis, Barak saw that the time has become appropriate to hold a triple meeting that includes Dermer and Al -Shaibani.

Both American and Israeli officials who spoke to “Axius” stressed that the Paris meeting is only a first step, and stressed the importance of taking confidence -building measures in preparation for any possible political progress.

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