Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron after a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, May 7, 2025. (REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq/Pool)
Share
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
CAIRO (Reuters) – Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said on Wednesday the country has had indirect talks with Israel to bring down tensions as Israeli strikes continued to target Syria.
Reuters reported the United Arab Emirates has set up a backchannel for talks between Israel and Syria, as Syria’s new rulers seek regional help to manage an increasingly hostile relationship with their southern neighbour.
Sharaa said the negotiations with Israel were being conducted through mediators, without naming them.
“There are indirect talks with Israel through mediators to calm and attempt to absorb the situation so that it does not reach a level that both sides lose control over,” he said, reiterating blame on Israel over what he described as its “random interventions” in Syria.
He also said Damascus was talking to states that communicate with Israel to “pressure them to stop intervening in Syrian affairs and bomb some of its infrastructure.”
Israel has continued its strikes in Syria in recent weeks, including one just 500 metres from the presidential palace in Damascus.
Israel said the strikes were in response to threats against Syria’s Druze, a minority sect that is an offshoot of Islam with adherents in Syria, Lebanon and Israel. Syria’s new leadership repeatedly condemned such strikes.
Israel has struck in Syria for years in a shadow campaign aimed at weakening Iran and its allies, including Lebanese Hezbollah.
—
(Reporting by Jaidaa Taha and Yomna Ehab, writing by Jaidaa Taha; Editing by Chris Reese and Deepa Babington)
RELATED TOPICS:
Former MLB All-Star Breaks Ground on BMW/Porsche/Audi Dealership in Clovis
14 hours ago
Fresno, Clovis to Open Cooling Centers as Temperatures Expected to Soar
14 hours ago
Costco Misses Quarterly Revenue Expectations Amid Reduced Consumer Spending
14 hours ago
Tulare County Authorities Respond to Double Shooting in Goshen
15 hours ago
US Appeals Court Reinstates Trump Tariffs, Sowing Market Confusion
15 hours ago
A Program Paying CA Jurors $100 a Day Would End Due to Newsom’s Budget Cuts
15 hours ago
Some Glaciers Will Vanish No Matter What, Study Finds
15 hours ago
Canada Wants to Kill 400 Ostriches. RFK Jr. and Dr. Oz Want to Save Them.
16 hours ago
Tulare County Man Convicted of Child Molestation During Burglary Faces Life Without Parole
12 hours ago
Categories

Tulare County Man Convicted of Child Molestation During Burglary Faces Life Without Parole

Fresno Man Arrested After Stolen City Vehicle Pursuit, Fires in Madera County

Former MLB All-Star Breaks Ground on BMW/Porsche/Audi Dealership in Clovis

Fresno, Clovis to Open Cooling Centers as Temperatures Expected to Soar

Costco Misses Quarterly Revenue Expectations Amid Reduced Consumer Spending

Tulare County Authorities Respond to Double Shooting in Goshen

US Appeals Court Reinstates Trump Tariffs, Sowing Market Confusion
