Syrian and Israeli officials have held talks in Paris mediated by the United States, according to a Syrian official, in the wake of an eruption of sectarian violence compounded by Israeli military intervention in southern Syria.
The meeting on Saturday was held to address recent security developments around the southern Druze-majority city of Suwayda, which has been the scene of fierce fighting in recent weeks between Bedouins and Druze fighters.
Israel intervened in the conflict, striking government buildings in Damascus and government soldiers in Suwayda province, saying it was doing so to protect the Druze.
The Syrian official told Al Jazeera Arabic that Damascus’s delegation at the Paris meeting emphasised that the unity and sovereignty of Syria are nonnegotiable and Suwayda and its people are an integral part of Syria. It also rejected any attempt to exploit segments of Syrian society for partition, the official said.
The source said the Syrian delegation held Israel responsible for the recent escalation and demanded the immediate withdrawal of Israeli forces from the points they had recently advanced to during the unrest.
‘Honest and responsible’
Syria’s state-run Ekhbariya TV, quoting its own diplomatic source, reported that the meeting did not result in any final agreements but the parties had agreed to continue talks aimed at maintaining stability.
The TV source described the dialogue as “honest and responsible” in the first confirmation from the Syrian side that talks had taken place.
On Friday, US envoy Tom Barrack said officials from both countries spoke about de-escalating the situation in Syria during talks on Thursday.
Hundreds of people have been reported killed in the fighting in Suwayda, which also drew in government forces. Israel, which carried out air strikes, during this month’s violence, has regularly struck Syria and launched incursions into its territory since longtime former President Bashar al-Assad was toppled in December.
Last week’s fighting underlined the challenges interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa faces in stabilising Syria and maintaining centralised rule.
Syria’s government announced a week ago that Bedouin fighters had been cleared out of Suwayda and government forces were deployed to oversee their exit from the entire province.
The announcement came after al-Sharaa ordered a new ceasefire between Bedouin and Druze groups after a separate US-brokered deal to avert further Israeli military attacks on Syria.
The diplomatic source, who spoke to Ekhbariya TV, said the meeting on Saturday involved initial consultations aimed at “reducing tensions and opening channels of communication amid an ongoing escalation since early December”.
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