Sharaa: Syria-Israel deal 90% complete before Israeli pullout

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said on Tuesday that negotiations between Damascus and Israel had reached nearly 90 percent agreement on a security framework before Jerusalem withdrew from the talks or introduced additional conditions, marking the closest the two enemies have come to formal security arrangements since the fall of the Assad regime. Speaking at an Atlantic Council panel in New York, Sharaa stated that direct talks began roughly a year ago with Damascus demanding an Israeli withdrawal to 1974 lines as a precondition for any lasting peace.

Negotiations neared completion

"There were several sessions of negotiations with Israel, and we almost reached 90% of agreements," Sharaa said, adding that Israel withdrew for "different reasons" at the final stage. He noted that since the fall of the former regime, Israel has continued to occupy new territories and conduct incursions, arrests and bombings inside Syria. "Syria still chose to go through diplomacy and to solve that problem through talk and negotiations," he added, though he emphasized that "we need to protect the security and the rights of the Syrians. Before that, we can't talk about peace."

Golan sovereignty

Sharaa maintained that "The Golan Heights is Syrian territory under the recognition of the United Nations," stating that sovereignty over the plateau is non-negotiable. He proposed forming an international committee to assess Israel's security concerns and verify "what is only a perception, what is genuine concerns."

Recounting a meeting with US President Donald Trump, Sharaa said he jokingly suggested: "Why don't you give New Jersey to the Israelis? You don't own the Golan Heights to give it to them, but you own New Jersey." Sharaa visited the White House last November, becoming the first Syrian head of state to do so since the country's independence in 1946.

Foreign bases and 9/11

The Syrian leader addressed foreign military presence in his country, noting that Russia has reduced its installations from approximately 170 to two bases now converted into Syrian army training facilities. He said Türkiye's bases in the northwest are also transitioning toward "a legal status" under the endorsement of the People's Assembly.

When former US President Joe Biden's Middle East coordinator Brett McGurk asked Sharaa about the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, the Syrian president replied: "I had nothing to do with that. At the time, I was 13 years old." He added that "we are completely disengaged from what happened then."