Israeli-Syrian meeting in Paris ends with agreement to de-escalate tensions

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa welcomes US Ambassador to Ankara and Special Envoy for Syria Tom Barrack (R) and his accompanying delegation at the People’s Palace in Damascus, Syria on July 9, 2025. [İzettin Kasım – Anadolu Agency]

US envoy Tom Barrack met in Paris on Thursday evening with Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer, Israel’s National Security Council head Tzachi Hanegbi, and Syrian Foreign Minister Hassan al-Shibani.

Following the meeting, Barrak stated on X, “Our goal was dialogue and de-escalation, and we accomplished precisely that.” He added: “All sides confirmed their commitment to continuing these efforts.”

The Paris meeting came amid heightened tensions in southern Syria, particularly after armed clashes erupted on 13 July between Druze fighters and Bedouin Arab tribes in Sweida.

The violence quickly spread, prompting Israeli airstrikes on Syrian military positions in Sweida and near Damascus.

Israel justified its actions by claiming to protect Druze communities, but most Druze leaders in Syria rejected this stance, denouncing foreign interference and reaffirming their commitment to Syria’s territorial unity.

A fragile ceasefire was declared the following Saturday.

READ: Turkey sees attempts to divide Syria as direct threat to its national security, vows to intervene

0 Comments

Unless otherwise stated in the article above, this work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. If the image(s) bear our credit, this license also applies to them. What does that mean? For other permissions, please contact us.