Syrian President Ahmed al Sharaa has ruled out any direct talks to normalise ties with Israel for now, as US President Donald Trump seeks to jumpstart his Abraham Accords.
Al Sharaa pointed on Monday explicitly to Israel's continued occupation of the Syrian Golan Heights, which it significantly expanded in 2024 in the wake of the downfall of the Assad regime, saying the conditions faced by Damascus are different from those of other nations that signed on to the agreements.
"I believe that the situation in Syria is different from the situation of the countries that signed on to the Abraham Accords," he said in translated remarks made during a Fox News interview.
"Syria has borders with Israel, and Israel occupies the Golan Heights since 1967. We are not going to enter into negotiations directly right now. Maybe the United States administration with President Trump will help us reach this kind of negotiation," he added.
The Abraham Accords are US-sponsored agreements to normalise relations between Israel and several Muslim-majority countries during Trump's first term.
Trump has previously voiced optimism that Syria, as well as Saudi Arabia, would join the normalisation agreements.
Coalition against Daesh
Asked about Syria potentially joining the global anti-Daesh coalition, al Sharaa said there are reasons for the US military to maintain its presence in his country, but said "it needs to be with the coordination with the Syrian government right now."
"We need to discuss these matters, and we need to talk about and get into an agreement about Daesh," he added.
Meanwhile, Syrian Information Minister Hamza al-Mustafa said Syria signed a political cooperation declaration with the Global Coalition to Defeat Daesh.
"The agreement is political and until now contains no military components," said al-Mustafa on X.
