Syria says it could resume security talks with Israel if strikes stop

Syria says it is prepared to resume security talks with Israel, but only if Israeli attacks stop. The comments came after fresh Israeli strikes on a Syrian air base and amid continuing Israeli military activity inside Syrian territory. The remarks add a new diplomatic layer to an already tense security situation along the border.

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Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani made the comments in an interview in Damascus on Saturday, according to the supplied report. He said the door to diplomacy remained open and urged Israel to take what he called a historic opportunity. He also said any renewed contact would need to produce results, and that Syria's immediate priority was to halt Israeli attacks.

The report says negotiations over a security accord have been frozen since the period of the Israel-Iran war, with no date set for a restart. It also says the two sides had agreed in writing on almost everything at the start of this year, although the process later stalled. Washington has been trying for more than a year to help broker an agreement between Israel and the government of President Ahmed al-Sharaa.

The talks are significant because the proposed deal would create security zones near the frontier, including an area reserved for the United Nations. That would make the arrangement more than a bilateral political understanding, giving it direct implications for border control, military movement and international monitoring. Syria has said it hopes any agreement would eventually lead to the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Syrian territory.

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The latest comments come after Israel bombed a Syrian air base days earlier, underscoring how military pressure and diplomacy are unfolding at the same time. The report says Israel has also sent troops into Syrian territory and struck government facilities, saying it is acting against threats to its security. Syrian officials, by contrast, say the country is not a threat to others and is focused on reconstruction after 14 years of war.

The broader context is a fragile regional environment in which security talks have repeatedly been affected by battlefield developments. The report says the negotiations were already frozen when the Israel-Iran war began, showing how wider regional conflict can quickly interrupt even indirect diplomatic efforts. It also suggests that any progress will depend not only on political will, but on whether both sides can reduce military escalation long enough to keep talks alive.

For now, the main unknown is whether the two sides will return to the table and under what conditions. The Israeli prime minister's office did not respond to a request for comment, according to the report. What happens next will likely depend on whether attacks continue, whether confidence-building steps are taken, and whether Washington can revive the stalled mediation effort.

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