Syrian President Says Israel Talks Reached 90% Agreement Before Israel Pulled Back

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said Israel and Syria had reached agreement on nearly 90% of a proposed security arrangement before Israel pulled back from the understandings or introduced new conditions.

Speaking at an Atlantic Council event in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, Sharaa said the two countries had held several rounds of negotiations with US involvement.

“There were several sessions of negotiations with Israel, and we almost reached 90% of agreements,” Sharaa said. He claimed Israel then withdrew “for different reasons,” but said talks between the sides remain active.

Sharaa said Syria had chosen to pursue diplomacy despite Israeli military operations inside the country following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in December 2024.

He described a potential agreement as a step-by-step process rather than an immediate peace deal. Under his proposal, Israel would first withdraw from territory entered after Assad’s fall and return to positions based on the 1974 disengagement agreement. The two countries could then negotiate broader security arrangements.

“If those arrangements succeed, then we can get into discussions about lasting peace,” Sharaa said.

The Syrian leader acknowledged that Israel has security concerns but argued that those concerns do not justify all Israeli military activity inside Syria. He also insisted that the Golan Heights remain Syrian territory and said their status was not open for negotiation.

Defense Minister Israel Katz responded Wednesday by rejecting Sharaa’s demands regarding both the Golan Heights and Israel’s military presence in southern Syria.

“The Golan Heights is under Israeli sovereignty; it is an integral part of the State of Israel forever,” Katz said. He also said Israeli forces would not withdraw from the buffer zone they entered following the collapse of the Assad regime.

Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War and extended Israeli law to the territory in 1981. The United States recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights in 2019.

Negotiations between Israel and Syria have focused primarily on security arrangements rather than a full peace agreement. Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said last month that the talks had stalled but expressed hope they would resume, while Washington has continued efforts to facilitate negotiations between the sides.