Syrian interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa has warned against Israel's demand to establish a demilitarized zone in southern Syria. He believes it would call into question the 1974 disengagement agreement and put Damascus in a "serious and dangerous" position.
First modification: 06/12/2025 - 22:29
Syria's interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, said Saturday that Israel's insistence on demanding a demilitarized zone in the south of his country puts Syria in a "dangerous position."
Syria has always insisted on respecting the disengagement agreement reached with Israel in 1974, which is "a fruitful agreement," and "seeking other agreements, such as the creation of a demilitarized zone (...) would put us in a serious and dangerous position," Ahmed al-Sharaa said at a conference in Doha.
Over the summer, high-level contacts between Israeli and Syrian officials took place with the help of Paris and Washington, and both sides indicated they want to reach a security agreement.
But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu demands the demilitarization of all Syrian territory from south of Damascus to the 1974 demarcation line.
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Donald Trump's warning
Since the fall of President Bashar al-Assad a year ago, ousted by an Islamist coalition, Israel has carried out hundreds of attacks and incursions in Syria.
It has deployed troops in the demilitarized zone of the Golan Heights, beyond the demarcation line between the part of this Syrian territory that it annexed and the rest of the neighboring country.
The United States is participating in talks between Israel and Syria to address security concerns on both sides, Ahmed al-Sharaa noted, highlighting international support for an Israeli withdrawal from Syrian territory.
"It is Syria that suffers from Israeli attacks [...] Who should be the first to ask for a buffer zone and a withdrawal?" said.
Donald Trump warned Israel December 1 against any interference in Syria, three days after a deadly incursion by Israeli forces into the south of the country. The raid killed 13 people, according to Damascus, and the Israeli army claimed to have attacked an Islamist group.
*Adapted from its original French version
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