Syria holds talks with Israel addressing de-escalation and Israel-Turkey tensions

Syria said it held talks with Israel in Jordan on Sunday on de-escalation after recent Israeli strikes, and on keeping the country out of tensions between Israel and Turkey, an ally of Damascus.

The high-level negotiations came after the sides in January agreed to establish an intelligence-sharing mechanism as they edge towards a security agreement.

They also came after Israel bombed the disused Abu Duhur airbase in the country’s northwest earlier in the week, claiming it wanted to avert Turkish troops deploying to the facility. Ankara denied any visit to the site.

Syrian state news agency SANA quoted a diplomatic source at the foreign ministry saying “a high-level Syrian delegation headed by the foreign minister and including the general and military intelligence chiefs” met a high-level Israeli delegation “under American mediation and hosted by Jordan”.

The meeting was “part of efforts aiming at de-escalation after recent Israeli bombardment of Syrian territory, escalating tensions in southern Syria, and in support of stability in Syria and the region”, said the source.

Discussions also addressed “efforts aimed at bringing closer the viewpoints between Turkey and Israel and ensuring the current tension between the two countries are not reflected on Syria territory”, the report added.