US envoy suggests 'non-aggression agreement' between Syria and Israel
The United States' new envoy for Syria, Thomas Barrack, called for a non-aggression agreement between Syria and Israel in remarks to Saudi channel Al Arabiya on Thursday.
Syria and Israel have technically been at war since 1948, with Israel taking the Golan Heights from Syria in 1967.
Since the ouster in December of former president Bashar Al Assad, Israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes and multiple incursions into Syria.
Barrack, who inaugurated the US ambassador's residence in Damascus on Thursday, said the conflict between the two countries was a "solvable problem".
To him, Syria and Israel could "start with just a non-aggression agreement, talk about boundaries and borders" to build a new relationship with its neighbour.
Israel has said its strikes on Syria were aimed at preventing advanced weapons from falling into the hands of the new authorities, whom it considers jihadists.
It has also threatened further intervention should the new authorities fail to protect the Druze religious minority.
Syria's interim President Ahmed Al Sharaa said earlier this month that his administration was holding "indirect talks" with Israel to calm tensions between the two countries.
Restoring US ties
Sharaa, who led the rebel offensive that toppled Assad in December, was once a jihadist leader wanted in the United States.
Since coming to power, he has repeatedly pledged inclusive governance that is open to the world, and restored Syria's ties with global powers, ending decades of isolation under Assad.
While on tour in the Gulf earlier this month, US President Donald Trump announced the lifting of sanctions on Syria, and said he hoped the country would normalise relations with Israel.
"I told him, I hope you're going to join once you're straightened out and he said yes. But they have a lot of work to do," he said of Sharaa.
He also called Sharaa a "young, attractive guy" with a "very strong past. Fighter".
On May 8, Sharaa said in France that Syria was holding "indirect talks through mediators" with Israel to "try to contain the situation so it does not reach the point where it escapes the control of both sides".
The United States has in recent months started rebuilding ties with Syria, ending more than a decade of diplomatic freeze.
Syria signed a $7 billion energy deal on Thursday with a consortium of Qatari, US and Turkish companies as it seeks to rehabilitate its war-ravaged electricity sector.
US flag raised
The agreement, signed in the presence of interim Sharaa and Barrack, is expected to generate 5,000 megawatts of electricity and cover half of the country's needs.
Barrack, who is also ambassador to Turkey, inaugurated the US ambassador's residence in the Syrian capital with Syrian Foreign Minister Assaad Al Shaibani, state media outlet Sana reported.
AFP photographers saw the US flag raised at the ambassador's residence, just a few hundred metres from the US embassy in the Abu Rummaneh neighbourhood, under tight security.
"Tom understands there is great potential in working with Syria to stop radicalism, improve relations, and secure peace in the Middle East," Trump said, according to a post on the State Department's X.
The US embassy in Syria was closed after Assad's repression of a peaceful uprising that began in 2011, which degenerated into civil war.
Barrack met with interim President Ahmed Al Sharaa in Istanbul on May 24, after the United States lifted sanctions on Syria.
The meeting followed a meeting in Riyadh between Trump and Sharaa, who led the Islamist coalition that toppled Assad in December.
The last US ambassador to Syria, Robert Ford, was declared persona non grata in 2011 after defying the Syrian government by visiting a city that was under army siege and the site of a major anti-regime protests.
In late December, a US delegation led by Barbara Leaf, the State Department's Middle East representative, held an initial meeting with the new leadership in Damascus.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Middle East Eye
36 minutes ago
- Middle East Eye
Israel bombs Tehran prison as Iranian missiles disrupt power supply
Israel and Iran exchanged heavy strikes on Monday in one of the most intense days of the conflict since the Israeli military launched an offensive against the Islamic Republic more than a week ago. The Israeli military said it carried out wide-ranging attacks on 'regime targets' in Tehran, including sites tied to Iran's internal security apparatus, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and the Evin Prison, which holds prominent political dissidents. Iran's Nour news agency reported that the detainees were safe. Iranian state and semi-official media reported that an electricity feeder station was hit in northern Tehran, leading to localised blackouts. The Qom province's crisis centre confirmed that Israel also targeted the Fordow nuclear facility, the most fortified nuclear sites in Iran, already struck by the US air force a day earlier. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters The Israeli military said the attack was meant to block access routes to the site. The Iranian people will never forgive or forget US-Israeli attacks Read More » Iranian student media also reported a strike at Shahid Beheshti University. The air strike came shortly after a barrage of Iranian missiles that triggered sirens across Israel for over 30 minutes on Monday morning. Explosions were heard throughout the country, caused either by direct missile impacts or interceptor defences. Israeli authorities reported damage "near a strategic infrastructure facility" in the south, which disrupted power supply. However, military censorship restricts public disclosure, leaving the full extent of the Iranian strikes unclear. Search and rescue teams were deployed to multiple locations where missile impacts were confirmed, though no casualties were reported. Iran seeks Russia's help As exchanges of fire escalated, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi flew to Moscow and met with Russian President Vladimir Putin. According to Reuters, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had dispatched Araghchi to Moscow to deliver a message to Putin personally. In a press conference in Moscow attended by Putin and Aragchi, the Russian president condemned Israel's attacks on Iran, saying: "Russia's position in supporting Iran is clear. We reject the Israeli aggression, and it has no justification whatsoever." Putin added that Russia "was trying to help the people of Iran", although he did not give any details of what assistance Russia would provide to Tehran. Iranian sources told Reuters that Tehran is frustrated with the lack of robust Russian support and is seeking a stronger commitment in the face of intensifying Israeli and US actions. The Iranian foreign minister, speaking to Russia's Tass agency, said Tehran and Moscow were 'coordinating their positions' on the current crisis. Since 13 June, Israeli strikes in Iran have killed at least 430 people and wounded 3,500, according to health officials. Independent sources suggest the death toll could be much higher. Meanwhile, Iranian missile attacks have killed at least 25 people and wounded 2,500, according to Israeli officials.
Middle East Eye
an hour ago
- Middle East Eye
Syria: Death toll rises to 27 in Damascus church suicide bombing
The death toll from Sunday's suicide bombing at a Damascus church has risen to at least 27, marking one of the deadliest attacks on Christians in the Syrian capital in over a decade. A masked suicide bomber entered the Greek Orthodox Mar Elias Church in the Dweila district on the outskirts of Damascus while worshippers, including children, were gathered in prayer. He opened fire on the congregation before detonating an explosive vest, possibly with the assistance of a second gunman. The blast shattered pews and caused extensive damage inside the church. The Syrian Ministry of Health reported 25 killed and 63 wounded, while the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said 27 people died in the blast, in addition to three unidentified body parts recovered from the site. As of Monday afternoon, no group has formally claimed responsibility, and the identity of the perpetrator remains unknown. However, state officials and independent monitors have pointed to the involvement of an Islamic State (IS) sleeper cell. Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa condemned the bombing as a 'heinous crime that targeted innocent people in their places of worship,' calling for national unity in the face of terrorism. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters 'We pledge to the bereaved that we will work day and night … to arrest all those who participated in and planned this heinous crime,' he said, notably stopping short of directly addressing Syria's targeted Christian community. 'If he really cares about Christians' The attack comes as the government attempts to gain the support of minority communities, while Sharaa - a former al-Qaeda member, who has rebranded himself as a statesman following a dramatic rise to power - continues to struggle to assert authority across the country. "I demand that Ahmad al-Sharaa himself comes and investigates the attack, if he is really a president for this country and cares about Christians in this country," the wife of Gerges Bechara, who was killed alongside six of his family members, told reporters. 'I demand that Ahmad al-Sharaa himself comes and investigates the attack, if he is about Christians in this country' - wife of victim Gerges Bechara In a press conference, Syrian interior ministry spokesman Noureddine al-Baba said that initial investigations indicate that IS was behind the attack. 'The security of places of worship is a red line,' he said, adding that IS and remaining members of the ousted Assad government are trying to destabilise Syria. Syrian Information Minister Hamza Mustafa condemned the attack, describing it as a terrorist act. 'This cowardly act goes against the civic values that bring us together,' he said on X. 'We will not back down from our commitment to equal citizenship … and we also affirm the state's pledge to exert all its efforts to combat criminal organisations and to protect society from all attacks threatening its safety.' The suicide bomber detonated an explosive belt at the church entrance as around 350 worshippers gathered for the evening service, which was being held in honour of Antiochian saints. Witnesses and videos widely shared on social media showed shattered glass, bloodied floors, and overturned pews inside the church, with emergency lights flashing as rescue teams pulled out the dead and wounded. 'This is an attack against every patriotic Syrian who believes in Syria,' Minister of Emergency and Disaster Management Raed al-Saleh said. Saleh is the former director of the Syrian civil defence organisation known as the White Helmets. Across the Middle East, non-state armed groups are down but not out Read More » On Monday morning, the scene outside the church was marked by shattered glass, a heavy security presence, and an eerie calm. Numerous international and Arab governments, including the United States, European Union, France, the United Arab Emirates and Lebanon, strongly condemned the church bombing as a cowardly terrorist act and urged Syrian authorities to protect religious minorities . For his part, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday denounced the attack, calling it a 'heinous terrorist attack'. 'We will never allow our sisterly neighbour be dragged into a new state of instability at the hands of terrorist groups in the suburbs,' Erdogan said in a statement. The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate also condemned the bombing and urged Syrian authorities to protect places of worship. A vigil for the victims is scheduled to be held this evening at Mar Elias Church.
UAE Moments
an hour ago
- UAE Moments
UAE Condemns Deadly Church Attack in Damascus
The United Arab Emirates has strongly denounced the suicide bombing at Mar Elias Church in Damascus, Syria, that claimed at least 22 lives and injured over 60 others during a Sunday service. In a statement issued by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the country reaffirmed its firm rejection of terrorism and all forms of violence aimed at destabilizing communities and threatening public safety. 'The UAE expresses its sincere condolences to the Syrian government and people following this heinous terrorist act,' the ministry said, adding a wish for a speedy recovery to those injured in the incident. According to eyewitnesses, the attacker opened fire inside the church before detonating an explosive belt after worshippers tried to stop him. While no group has officially claimed responsibility, Syria's Interior Ministry blamed the terror group ISIS for the attack. This marks the first such attack in Damascus since the fall of President Bashar al-Assad's regime in December, raising fresh concerns over the security landscape in the Syrian capital. The UAE joins a growing list of nations condemning the assault and calling for unified global efforts against extremism.
