Israel and the new Syrian regime have recently held direct talks, according to an Israeli source familiar with the matter \u2013 an indication of shifting dynamics between the former enemies as Israel expands its military presence in the country. <\/p>\n
The talks were held in Azerbaijan and were attended by the chief of the Israeli military\u2019s Operations Directorate, Maj. Gen. Oded Basyuk, the source said, adding that Basyuk met with Syrian government representatives in the presence of Turkish officials. <\/p>\n
Interim Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa said last week that his government was holding indirect talks with Israel to bring an end to its attacks on his country \u201cso matters don\u2019t reach a point where both sides lose control.\u201d <\/p>\n
There\u2019s been no word from Damascus on any direct talks with Israel. <\/p>\n
The source did not disclose the topics of the meeting, nor who was mediating. Channel 12 in Israel was the first to report the meeting. <\/p>\n
This week, US President Donald Trump met Sharaa \u2013 a former jihadist who was designated a terrorist by the US in 2013 \u2013 in Saudi Arabia. Trump pledged to remove crippling sanctions imposed against the regime of Bashar al Assad. Assad was overthrown in an uprising led by Sharaa and fled Syria in December. <\/p>\n
The White House said that Trump urged Sharaa take a series of measures, including normalization with Israel, expelling foreign and Palestinian \u201cterrorists,\u201d and helping the US to prevent the resurgence of ISIS. <\/p>\n
Since the Assad regime fell, Israel has taken more territory in Syria and staged multiple attacks that it says are aimed at preventing the reconstitution of military capabilities and rooting out militancy that could threaten its security. Israel\u2019s move into Syrian territory was initially described as temporary but officials have since said that the military will remain indefinitely. <\/p>\n
Israel has also declared a buffer zone in the south of Syria with the stated aim of protecting Syria\u2019s Druze minority. It also occupies the Golan Heights, which it captured from Syria in the 1967 war and later annexed. <\/p>\n
The US Treasury said Thursday it was working to Trump\u2019s direction on Syria sanctions and aims to implement \u201cthe necessary authorizations that would be critical to bringing new investment into Syria.\u201d <\/p>\n
It added in a post on X that the \u201cTreasury\u2019s actions can help rebuild Syria\u2019s economy, financial sector, and infrastructure and could put the country on a path to a bright, prosperous, and stable future.\u201d <\/p>\n
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio clarified that the US will issue waivers to Syria sanctions and is not fully repealing them for the time being. <\/p>\n
\u201cAs we make progress, hopefully we\u2019ll be in a position soon, or one day, to go to Congress and ask them to permanently remove the sanctions,\u201d Rubio said in Antalya, Turkey, adding that the Trump administration hoped to eventually repeal the waivers because the prospect of sanctions returning every six months is a deterrent to investment. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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