DAMASCUS, Syria: The United States’ envoy for Syria Thomas Barrack has proposed a non-aggression agreement between Syria and Israel, calling it a “solvable problem” that must begin with dialogue.
In an interview with Al Arabiya on Thursday, Barrack said Syria and Israel is a solvable problem, but it starts with a dialogue.
Syria and Israel have technically been at war since 1948, with Israel taking the Golan Heights from Syria in 1967.
Since the ouster in December of former president Bashar al-Assad, Israel has conducted hundreds of air strikes and multiple incursions into Syria.
The US envoy said Syria and Israel could “start with just a non-aggression agreement, talk about boundaries and borders” to build a new relationship with its neighbour.
Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa said earlier this month that his administration was holding “indirect talks” with Israel to calm tensions between the two countries.
Since coming to power, he has repeatedly pledged inclusive governance that is open to the world, and restored Syria’s ties with global powers, ending decades of isolation under Assad.
While on tour in the Gulf earlier this month, US President Donald Trump announced the lifting of sanctions on Syria, and said he hoped the country would normalise relations with Israel.
On May 8, Sharaa said in France that Syria was holding “indirect talks through mediators” with Israel to “try to contain the situation so it does not reach the point where it escapes the control of both sides.”
Syria signed a $7 billion energy agreement on Thursday with a consortium of Qatari, US, and Turkish companies, aiming to rebuild its electricity sector, which has been severely damaged by years of conflict.
“Tom understands there is great potential in working with Syria to stop Radicalism, improve Relations, and secure Peace in the Middle East,” Trump said, according to a post on the State Department’s X.
On May 24, Barrack met with interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Istanbul, shortly after the United States lifted sanctions on Syria.
The meeting came on the heels of an earlier discussion in Riyadh between former President Trump and al-Sharaa, who had led the coalition that overthrew Assad in December.
