AhlulBayt News Agency: A Syrian and an Israeli official are expected to meet in Baku to discuss Israel’s recent military activities in Syria, according to a diplomatic source in Damascus.
The source told AFP that the meeting would take place on the sidelines of Abu Mohammed al-Jolani’s visit to Azerbaijan, though Jolani himself would not attend.
Israel, a key arms supplier to Azerbaijan, has conducted hundreds of airstrikes in Syria since HTS-led forces ousted President Bashar al-Assad in December.
Following Assad’s removal, Israeli troops entered the UN-monitored buffer zone in the Golan Heights and expanded operations into southern Syria, including Quneitra and Daraa, violating the 1974 disengagement agreement.
Jolani has repeatedly urged the international community to pressure Israel to stop its attacks.
He arrived in Baku on Saturday for talks with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
Azerbaijan announced plans to begin exporting gas to Syria via Turkey, according to a presidential statement.
Earlier this month, the HTS-led Syrian administration expressed willingness to work with the U.S. to reinstate the 1974 buffer zone agreement and confirmed indirect contacts with Israel.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar recently stated that Israel is interested in a peace and normalization deal with Syria.
Negotiations are reportedly underway to reach such an agreement by 2026.
U.S. envoy Tom Barrack confirmed during a visit to Lebanon that dialogue between Syria and Israel has begun.
After meeting Jolani in Riyadh in May, Trump said he hoped Syria would join other Arab nations in normalizing ties with Israel under the Abraham Accords.
Trump said Jolani agreed in principle but acknowledged that Syria still had significant work to do.
Since then, the U.S. has removed HTS from its list of foreign terrorist organizations, and Trump signed an executive order easing sanctions on Syria.
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