Syria-Israel agreement taking shape in Baku

While all eyes are on the expected meeting between Syria’s transitional leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the United Nations General Assembly in September, rapprochement efforts between the new administration in Damascus and Tel Aviv are proceeding on multiple parallel tracks.

The US decision to remove al-Sharaa from its terror list, paving the way for his participation in the UN meetings, has been a significant development accelerating this process.

In this context, Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, hosted a meeting attended by Syrian and Israeli delegations.

Israel’s i24NEWS channel claimed that al-Sharaa also participated in this meeting, an assertion denied by Syrian sources.

The meeting was coordinated to coincide with the Syrian transitional leader’s visit to Baku, during which he signed various agreements with Azerbaijan, primarily in the energy sector.

At least three meetings held in Baku

The Israeli channel, citing a source it described as close to al-Sharaa, reported that at least three meetings were held in Baku.

These meetings were reportedly attended by Syrian Foreign Minister Asad al-Shaibani and the Syrian government’s security meetings coordinator, Ahmed al-Dalati, as well as a special representative of the Israeli Prime Minister and a delegation of senior security and military officials.

The report noted that in light of rising tensions between Tehran and Damascus in recent weeks, the choice of Azerbaijan for the negotiations “carries a political message to Iran.”

It was noted that a possible security agreement between Syria and Israel was discussed at the meetings. Also on the table were Iran’s presence in Syria and Lebanon, Hezbollah’s weapons, Palestinian organizations, camps in Lebanon, the future of Palestinian refugees from Gaza, and the possibility of opening a non-diplomatic Israeli coordination office in Damascus.

This development was also confirmed by Israel’s Haaretz newspaper. The paper wrote that the meeting was part of a series of talks involving senior security figures from both sides.

This process is expected to culminate in a new summit announced by Israel’s Kan channel. At this summit, Foreign Minister al-Shaibani and his Israeli counterpart, Gideon Sa’ar, will meet at the European Union headquarters in Brussels, which will be the first publicly disclosed meeting between officials at this level.

‘Not normalization, but a de-escalation strategy’

Pro-government media outlets, including the el-Vatan newspaper, which came under the control of the new administration after the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad’s government in Syria, stated that the talks are part of a “de-escalation strategy, not normalization” and that it is “still too early” to speak of a peace agreement.

Citing a diplomatic source in Damascus, the newspaper reported that the talks revolved around “Israel’s new military presence in southern Syria.”

This statement refers to the areas in Quneitra, Daraa, and the Damascus countryside—which include strategic plateaus and freshwater sources—that Israel occupied immediately after the collapse of the Assad government.

The recent talks in Baku are not the first of their kind. The Azerbaijani capital has hosted a series of contacts between representatives of the new Syrian administration and Tel Aviv in recent months.

These contacts took place on the sidelines of meetings between Turkish and Israeli delegations following diplomatic tensions between the two countries over Israel’s opposition to any Turkish military expansion in Syria.

US and UAE involved

In addition to Azerbaijan, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is also playing a significant role in expanding communication channels between the current Syrian authorities and Israel.

The US Special Representative for Syria, Thomas Barrack, who also serves as the ambassador to Ankara, is taking the lead on this file.

All these developments indicate that bilateral talks between the new Syrian administration and Israeli officials will intensify in the coming period.

These contacts are preparatory in nature for the planned meeting between al-Sharaa and Netanyahu, where a preliminary security agreement is expected to be signed.

While this security agreement is intended to pave the way for a peace treaty, the occupied Syrian territory of the Golan Heights appears to be excluded from the equation for now.

Meanwhile, there are many doubts about Israel’s presence in the recently occupied territories, and there is talk of deploying US troops to these areas.

The possibility of opening a non-diplomatic Israeli coordination office in Damascus is somewhat reminiscent of Qatar’s experience with Israel.

Despite the absence of declared diplomatic relations between the two sides, Israelis maintain effective communication with Doha. It appears that Damascus, which is trying to meet US conditions—primarily the removal of Palestinian organizations from Syria—is currently aiming for a similar model.