Syria: No normalisation unless Israel return the Golan Heights

Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia meets Bashar al-Assad on April 18, 2023 in Damascus, Syria. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan arrived in Damascus on Tuesday, for the first such visit to Syria in 12 years [Saudi Arabian Foreign Ministry – Anadolu Agency]

Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad told Sky News Arabia that his country has not been invited by the United States to establish relations with Israel.

“Americans know the Syrian leadership’s stance, which has not changed since the beginning of peace talks in 1990,” Al-Assad told the Abu Dhabi-based TV station.

“If there is no Israeli willingness to return the land, there is no need to waste time.” he added.

He added that he knew since the beginning of the war that it would be a long war, indicating that the possibility of him relinquishing power was not on the table.

Commenting on the issue of Syrian refugees, Al-Assad said that the biggest challenge for their return to their homeland is the reconstruction of the country’s infrastructure that was ruined by “terrorism”.

Israel occupied the Syrian Golan Heights in 1967 and annexed it in 1981 in a move not recognised by the international community. In 2020, then-US President Donald Trump officially recognised Israel’s sovereignty over the occupied territory.

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