Israeli and Syrian officials hold talks in Azerbaijan

Shafaq News – Baku/Damascus

On Sunday, Israeli and Syrian officials held a rare face-to-face meeting in Baku, on the sidelines of Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s visit to Azerbaijan, a diplomatic source in Damascus told AFP.

According to the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, al-Sharaa did not personally attend the meeting, which focused on Israel’s recent military activity in Syria.

Ahead of the meeting, Israeli media outlets reported Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani and senior security liaison Ahmed al-Dalati were participating, along with a special envoy from Prime Minister Netanyahu and top Israeli military and intelligence officials.

The talks were expected to cover Iran’s influence in Syria and Lebanon, Hezbollah’s weapons stockpiles, armed Palestinian factions, and the future of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon and Gaza, and the possible establishment of an Israeli coordination office without formal diplomatic status in Damascus.

Damascus recently acknowledged indirect talks with Israel focused on restoring the 1974 disengagement agreement that created the Golan buffer zone. Meanwhile, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar indicated a potential policy shift late last month, saying Israel is open to pursuing a peace and normalization agreement with Syria.

Israel, a key arms supplier to Azerbaijan and a prominent diplomatic actor in the Caucasus, has carried out hundreds of airstrikes in Syria since the fall of Bashar al-Assad in December. Israeli forces also entered the UN-monitored buffer zone on the Golan Heights, conducting further operations in southern Syria.