Under U.S. Sponsorship: al-Shibani Meets Israeli Minister in Paris

Syrian and Israeli officials held a four-hour meeting, mediated by U.S. envoy to Syria Thomas Barrack, in an effort to reach security understandings regarding southern Syria.

Barrack announced the meeting on his X  account on the evening of July 24, stating, “The goal of the meeting was dialogue and de-escalation—we accomplished exactly that. All parties reaffirmed their commitment to continuing these efforts.”

The U.S. news outlet Axios reported that the meeting, brokered by the Trump administration, marked the highest-level official engagement between Israel and Syria in over 25 years.

First Talks Since Suwayda Clashes

This was the first known meeting between the two sides since last week’s crisis in the city of Suwayda and the subsequent Israeli airstrikes on Damascus.

According to Axios, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani and Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer attended the meeting.

Israeli officials told the outlet the summit aimed to reach a mutual understanding on southern Syria to maintain the ceasefire between the two countries and avoid a repeat of last week’s crisis.

Prelude to Normalization?

This meeting represents the highest-level formal contact since former U.S. President Bill Clinton convened talks in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, in 2000 between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa.

An Israeli official told Axios that Tel Aviv hopes the meeting will bolster Syria’s readiness to take further diplomatic steps, alongside security coordination.

According to the report, the semi-public meeting in Paris followed months of secret talks, some reportedly brokered by Turkey.

Following the fall of the Assad regime, Israel opened communication channels with the new Syrian authorities through Turkey, establishing a direct military hotline to avoid aerial clashes in Syrian airspace.

Israeli officials said that Turkish intelligence chief İbrahim Kalın had suggested to Israeli National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi the inclusion of Syrian officials in the negotiations. Based on that suggestion, Hanegbi held several meetings with Foreign Minister al-Shibani in Baku, Azerbaijan.

As Barrack became increasingly involved in efforts to broker security understandings in recent weeks, Israeli leadership decided to include Minister Dermer in the talks due to his role in liaising with the White House, Axios reported.

Israeli sources told the outlet that the Israeli government concluded that American incentives would be necessary to encourage Damascus to engage in normalization, and tasked Dermer with this mission.

Following the recent Suwayda crisis, Barrack reportedly deemed the timing right for a trilateral meeting with Dermer and al-Shibani.

Both American and Israeli officials who spoke with Axios emphasized that the Paris meeting was just a first step, underscoring the importance of taking concrete confidence-building measures to pave the way for possible political progress.

Background: Israeli Strikes on Syria

On July 15, Israel bombed a Syrian Ministry of Defense convoy en route to Suwayda, claiming it was targeting groups involved in attacks on the Druze population. The Syrian government denied the accusations.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated on Monday that President Trump was dissatisfied with Israel’s actions in Syria last week and called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “correct the situation.”

The following day, Israel escalated its actions by launching airstrikes on Damascus, hitting areas near the presidential palace and military headquarters. U.S. officials attributed the crisis to poor communication between Damascus and Tel Aviv.