Israeli intelligence holds talks with Syria and Turkey in Baku

Israel has held both direct and indirect talks with Syrian officials, according to Israel’s Channel 12.

Two rounds of negotiations have reportedly taken place, one of them in Azerbaijan, where Israel was represented by IDF Operations Directorate chief Major General Oded Basyuk. Syrian government and Turkish representatives also attended the meeting.

Israel is also reportedly engaged in talks with Syrian authorities via the United Arab Emirates as a mediator, focusing on a potential Syrian accession to the Abraham Accords.

During a recent meeting in Riyadh, former U.S. President Donald Trump directly proposed the idea to Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa. Speaking later aboard Air Force One, Trump told reporters: “I said [to al-Sharaa] I hope you’ll join once things stabilize. He said ‘yes.’ But they still have a lot of work to do.”

Channel 12 added that Israel sees Syria’s potential shift away from Iran’s influence and toward the U.S. as a positive development, which could also improve Israeli-Turkish relations, given Turkey’s participation in the talks.

N.Tebrizli